Let it Whip
by iTravel
Summary: When she accepted the mission to infiltrate Akatsuki, Sakura never thought it would change her life; she never thought S-class criminals could teach her anything, nor did she ever think Itachi would give her something she wouldn't trade for the world. IxS
1. Chapter 1

_Note: **29 March, 2009**. I started this story more than a year ago, and with one chapter left of my first multi-chapter action fic, I realize just how much I have progressed from my beginning days as an author. I ask for your patience when reading through the beginning few chapters. I have chosen not to rewrite them, even though part of me is itching to, because it reminds me that with time and practice, improvement is inevitable. Thank you. _

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**Oh lord. Here I am…again. I really need to stop getting all these crazy ideas in my head. SIGH However, I hope you are all enjoying my CRAZY ideas. Writing these stories make me laugh, and I hope you get as much pleasure out of them as I do. **

**Background: Okay. So, Sakura is doing a mission that involves her becoming an Akatsuki member. So the story will start with her at the Akatsuki base 8 months after she was assigned this mission. **

**Oh, and all the Akatsuki members are alive, and Sasuke is not back yet.**

**Sakura is 18.**

**I don't own Naruto. **

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_Flashback:_

"_Good Afternoon, Sakura," said the Godaime Hokage. _

"_Hello, Tsunade-shishou."_

"_I'll be honest with you Sakura. The mission I am about to give you is probably the most important mission you will ever receive in your life. It will be extremely difficult and you will be gone for as long as it takes for you to complete, which very well may be years. You will be doing a lot of lying, and God knows what else. I cannot tell you what will happen. You will not like this."_

'_Well she sure gets straight to the point…'_

_Sakura waited for her to continue. _

"_Your mission in to infiltrate Akatsuki and become one of their members. They obviously know about your affiliation to Konoha, therefore we are staging the deaths of three ANBU members to make it seem believable that you are a missing-nin."_

_Sakura felt her stomach drop. Her mouth fell open for a few moments, but she quickly recovered. _

_She cleared her throat. _

"_And what am I to do once I am in the organization?"_

"_Gather information. I have a hunch that they have 7 of the 9 tailed beasts, but I would like to make sure. I also want to know when they plan to capture Naruto, and how they plan to do so. I would assume that will try and get him when he is on a mission, however I want to know if they plan to infiltrate Konoha as a last resort."_

_Sakura swallowed. No, she definitely didn't like this, but she would do it for her best friend. _

"_Hai."_

"_It will take them a while to trust you, and even then, they will still be suspicious. You need to use the utmost care. If they find out that you are a spy, you will undoubtedly be killed on the spot. Please be careful," she added. _

_Sakura bowed. "Hai."_

_Tsunade's face softened. "Good luck, Sakura. Don't let me down."_

_Sakura nodded, and disappeared out the door. _

_Tsunade sighed. She didn't want to send Sakura on such a dangerous mission, but as Hokage, she knew that this was for the good of the village. Sakura was the only one who could do this. Who knew when the next time they see each other would be?_

_Tsunade could do nothing but pray for her success and safety. _

_**8 months later:**_

Sakura was lying in the grass a few yards from the entrance of the Akatsuki hideout. Thinking back to the day when Tsunade told her about this mission, she remembered how nervous she was. It was funny, actually, she wasn't nervous or scared about getting caught and killed, it was Itachi that made her the most frightened. She was afraid of losing her temper and yelling at him for making Sasuke's life hell. She was afraid of being attracted to him because he looked so much like _him_. In fact, there were a few times when she caught herself staring at him – and she promptly had to remind herself of his…psycho-ness.

He was vastly different from the way she had imagined him, however. He was extremely intelligent, not that she didn't expect him to be, but she just didn't picture him for one who would actually sit down and engage her in conversation. He opened up to her after a few months. Well 'open up' was the wrong phrase, but after maybe three months, he would start saying more than five words to her a day. He was also respectful and was well mannered. He would also start doing little things for her that she supposed no one would notice – but she did.

When ordering dinner, he would buy her favorite food. After a particularly nasty fight with some mist nin, she had gotten her Akatsuki robe cut to pieces. That night while camping out, Itachi gave her his cloak to wear so she wouldn't freeze. A few months ago on her 18th birthday, he wished her a 'Happy Birthday' as he walked past her bedroom. He didn't bring it up again that day, but just him acknowledging her once was more than enough.

"Would you like to spar?" Itachi asked in a voice that made her want to jump him right then and there.

His hair was flowing freely around his shoulders. She had never seen his hair like that, and well… it caught her off guard.

She was staring.

Sigh.

Not wanting to keep looking like a complete idiot, Sakura said,

"Yes, Itachi, I would like to."

Little by little, she was falling for the enemy.

When Itachi turned around to get into position, two thoughts passed Sakura's mind:

'_**I am NOT falling for the enemy!'**_

Gulp.

'_**Oh…**_

…

…_**Shit.'**_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The pair was having difficulty training.

Itachi was always much faster than Sakura was, so today, she decided to do a little experiment. This time she took her shirt off while training; she wanted to see if that would slow him down a bit.

Standing in only a black sports bra and black sweatpants that hung rather low on her hips, she noticed that he was a bit slower today that usual. At times, she caught him looking at her exposed flesh. He tried to hide it, but two or three times, he was a bit slow to raise his eyes to her face when she turned around. It was obvious that he was a bit…distracted.

However, he was not helping her any either. He had also taken his shirt off, and she did not have the willpower to stop looking at his delicious physique. She knew then and there that it was physically impossible for this man to be any sexier. There was nothing about his appearance that could be perfected. His mind however…well, she was working on it.

With his Sharingan on, he could clearly see the beads of sweat rolling down her body. He watched as they dripped down her neck to her chest. He could also see the ones that slid down her back into the waistband of her pants. This was the first time in his life that he cursed his bloodline limit.

He was so caught up in the scenery, that it took his a few moments to realize that she had bitten her thumb and summoned two swords. She picked them up and forced them into the ground.

Then Sakura reached up, grabbed her scratched out forehead protector and wrapped it around her eyes.

'_What is she doing_?' Itachi was thinking to himself, though he would never voice his questions.

"I fight better when I can't see," She responded, as though answering his thoughts. "It helps me hone my chakra sensing skills. It is much easier to follow someone's energy than see them."

She "looked" at him and grinned. She then picked up the two swords and waited to see what Itachi was going to do.

He gave her a small smirk, and the next thing she realized was that he had a long sword of his own.

30 minutes and a few bloody scratches later (most of the scratches were on Itachi although the ones on Sakura were deeper), Sakura's pink Akatsuki ring started glowing and grew hot. (A/N: Yes, I made that up.)

Sakura made some hand signals and her swords disappeared. A few seconds later, Itachi's disappeared as well, '_where did he get them from_?' she vaguely wondered.

"Leader-sama wants to see me." She said as she tied her headband back in place.

Itachi nodded. Just then, they looked up to see Deidara, Kisame, Tobi, and Hidan standing near the entrance.

"It seems he wants to see all of us." Itachi said.

Sakura walked past her fellow Akatsuki members in order to change out of her black sports bra and black sweatpants, that she had tucked under her knees.

"Don't keep us waiting." Kisame called to her as she ascended the stairs.

Well, it looked like she wouldn't have time for a shower.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

**Okay, well I wanted to give everyone a bit of a background to the story. **

**I dunno if you can summon things that aren't animals, but its my story and I can do what I want lol. **

**Would you like me to continue?**

**Reviews are appreciated. **


	2. Chapter 2

**A bit of a filler chapter…but I still had fun writing it.**

**I have a lot of fun screwing with characters.**

**If I owned Naruto, Sasuke would have gotten bitch slapped a longgg time ago. Itachi would be good (he's so friggen not, no?) and Naruto would have kicked the shit out of Sasuke at VoTE…just my opinion LOL.**

**OOOOO**

Sakura and the rest of Akastuki walked into Pein's office. Seated in the shadows, with his hands were crossed, Pein was leaning back into the chair. Everyone filed into the room and leaned against the walls, with the exception of Sakura who stood directly in front of Pein's desk.

"I have a mission for just you Sakura." While he studied her face, she asked,

"Might I ask why everyone is here then, Pein-sama?"

She could see him smirk in the shadows. He seemed to be enjoying himself, and that made her more curious and…nervous.

"I have a special mission for you…I assure you that you have not done this sort of mission in a long time." He said without answering her question.

Sakura really had no idea what he was talking about now, and he was still smirking.

"...Hai."

Silence.

_Tell me already, damn it!_

"It's a seduction mission." Pein said, the smirk never leaving his face.

Sakura felt Itachi's chakra spike slightly, then turn dangerous.

Sakura grinned widely. She then released her clenched fists, crossed her arms and put her weight on one leg, shifting her hips a bit.

She said in a low voice, "A seduction mission, huh? You're right, I haven't done one of those in a long time."

"I know." Pein answered.

"Pein-sama, why Sakura? Shouldn't another kunoichi from a nearby village do this? I mean it's a bit below Akatsuki's level, yeah." Deidara asked.

Sakura's smile widened. She knew the answer (well part of it) and she looked at Pein.

He sighed and sat back in his chair. "I guess you haven't heard. Well, Sakura is known in almost every country for her…methods of…persuasion."

When Pein didn't elaborate, Sakura continued,

"When I was 15, Tsunade got angry with me because I hid her sake bottles, and she decided to give me a seduction mission to punish me. I guess she thought it would be funny. She also thought I was too shy and I would fail." Sakura paused and laughed a bit. "Well, it turns out that I am quite good at it." She giggled when she looked around at her fellow Akatsuki member's faces. They were trying not to look shocked and turned-on at the same time. Well, except Itachi, who looked a bit angry.

She continued, "Anyway, I seemed to be so good at it, that she sent me on every seduction mission possible." Sakura stopped, thinking. "I've done like 75 maybe? I've completely everyone successfully…and no, I've never had to actually sleep with anyone. Men will tell you anything when you're giving them a lap dance and they're drunk." Sakura couldn't stop smiling now. These missions were so much fun. She liked to make a game out of seeing how far she could push a guy into giving her what she wanted.

"On the rare occasion, however," she continued, her smiled faltering a bit, "that it's a 'seduce and kill' mission, a simple genjutsu after they pass out makes them believe that they've slept with me.

"I don't really like those as much…I have to use my imagination because my thoughts are part of the jutsu." Sakura shivered. "But, I also see their thoughts…which aren't always the most pleasant." She said more to herself than anyone else.

"Luckily, I've only had to do a handful of those," she said, trying to brighten up the suddenly very dark mood.

Deidara snorted. "You've completed 75 successful seduction missions? Those guys must be losers, yeah."

Sakura's head snapped to Deidara's direction. She raised a brow. "Is that a challenge?" She asked, obviously amused. When he didn't answer, she continued, "Are you saying that you would not be affected by me if it were you I was to be assigned to?" Sakura tried to bite her lip to keep from smiling; it was so much fun messing around with Deidara.

Sakura slowly walked in his direction, until she was about six inches away from his body. She saw him swallow.

"I'm just saying that the guys must not be too powerful." He obviously didn't realize that he was digging himself deeper.

She leaned against him. "We'll see." She whispered in his ear.

"Enough." Pein said. Sakura turned around and saw Itachi staring in their direction, his eyes meeting hers.

"Let me give you the details…"

Sakura walked back in front of the desk.

"The reason why you are doing it and not a kunoichi from a nearby village is because this is dealing with a jinchuuriki…"

XXXXX

Sakura was going to ask Itachi about his opinion of her outfit, (on second thought, he probably wouldn't answer anyway), but she had no idea where he was. She walked into the kitchen to see Deidara and Kisame sitting at the table talking each eating a bowl of white rice.

"Can you help me with something?" Sakura asked, her attention directed at Deidara.

"Of course, yeah."

"Don't move." She smirked playfully and went back upstairs to change.

She came down wearing dark blue straight-leg jeans, black 3 inches heels, and a small black halter-top that showed her entire stomach. The halter-top also had three buttons in the front; the only button that was buttoned was the lowest one, exposing her black lace bra. She also had on a black leather belt and black fingerless gloves. Her waist length hair was straight. She put a dusting of black eye shadow, mascara and a smidge of black eye liner. She also dusted some glitter on her torso.

Deidara snorted in his drink when he saw her. Sakura glanced over at Kisame who was trying his hardest not to laugh.

After a couple of awkward seconds while Deidara was trying to recover from his coughing fit, Sakura said,

"Okay. I need your opinion. There is another outfit that I also have. Don't move."

"Like he could if he wanted to." Kisame muttered under his breath.

Deidara shot him a glare.

Just then, Sasori and Tobi entered the room. They each sat at the table, with Sasori looking rather bored, and Tobi looking expectantly at Deidara and Kisame, evidently waiting for someone to start conversation.

The silence was thick, but comfortable.

"Where is Itachi-san?" Tobi asked. When no one answered, Kisame shrugged.

Deidara waited for about 5 minutes wondering what else she could possibly put on. It wasn't possible to look sexier than she did just now.

He heard her walking down the stairs. He held his breath without even noticing. She entered the room with the same 'top' on, but instead of jeans, she wore the smallest black skirt he had ever seen in his life. How was it possible for someone to have legs like that?

_Itachi is one lucky man, and he doesn't even realize it_. Deidara mentally sighed.

Sakura stood with one hand on the doorway, the other on her hip. "Do you like this better than the other one?" Sakura asked, trying very hard to stifle her laughter at the look on everyone's faces.

"It looks fine, yeah." Deidara tried very hard to sound nonchalant.

"Fine?" Sakura asked while raising an eyebrow. "Just fine?" She saw Kisame shoot Deidara a look. Tobi seemed to be bouncing up and down in his seat, while Sasori looked a bit surprised. They all looked expectantly at Deidara, waiting for him to answer.

Sakura decided to see how far she could push him. She crossed her arms, looked Deidara directly in the eye, and slowly sauntered over to him. For the second time, she saw him gulp. Damn men and their pride. It was payback time for his earlier comments.

"So you're saying that you're not at all affected by my outfit? What a shame." Sakura added as an afterthought. Sakura smirked. _Thank God Itachi isn't here. He'd probably kill everyone in this room if he saw me doing this_.

She walked around the table and stepped directly in front of Deidara.

"How about I show you the extent to which my outfit _does_ indeed affect you, Deidara." Sakura said softly. She put her hands on either of his shoulders, while lifting her left leg, straddling Deidara's lap. She could definitely hear Kisame's laughter from behind her.

As she shifted her hips to very lightly grind into him, she could hear him make a small sound in the back of his throat. Putting her hands around his neck, she leaned forward and ran her tongue lightly in the shell of his ear.

"I'm going to ask you a few questions and your going to answer me truthfully okay?"

When he nodded, she pressed her torso a bit harder into his chest.

"Good. Now, do you like my first outfit or the second outfit better?"

"The second, yeah." He answered a bit breathlessly.

"What's your middle name?" She asked as she bit down on the tendon on the side of his neck.

"Shoka."

"What was the purpose of your last mission." She ran her hands down to his abs and up again.

"Reconnaissance -- to find out where the 6 tailed demon was."

"And was your mission successful?" She began kissing the side of neck and moved up to his jaw line.

Kisame was having serious trouble hiding his laughter now. Even Sasori seemed to be enjoying himself.

"Yes, the demon was inside of a little girl in whirlpool country." Sakura ground against him a bit harder in reward for his answers.

"Hand me all your clay."

Without saying a word and no hesitation, Deidara handed her his pouch of clay. Sakura smiled and pulled back to kiss him dangerously close to his mouth. When she pulled back to look him in the eye, she saw his desire for her written all over his face. She leaned forward and said seductively into his lips,

"See? I can make men do _anything_."

The room was so silent, you could hear a pin drop. Tobi had been sitting completely still in his chair, watching the scene unfold.

"What's going on here?" Itachi asked, his tone reminding Sakura of steel.

Everyone turned to look at him. If you looked closely, his hands were shaking a tiny bit because they were clenched so tightly. They all could feel his murderous chakra rolling off him.

Before she got off of him, clay still in hand, she grinded against him hard – "nonchalantly". Deidara couldn't keep his groan quiet. Biting her lip to keep from laughing, she stood up. His noise only made Itachi angrier.

"Here's your clay." She tossed his bag to him.

He looked up at her, surprised.

"You didn't even realize you gave it to me?" She asked, also surprised.

"Of – of course I realized, yeah." Deidara asked, failing to totally hide his embarrassment.

"Of course." Sakura said with a smile.

Sakura would not have been shocked at all if Itachi had snapped Deidara's neck right then and there. He obviously didn't appreciate being ignored.

Sakura looked at Itachi before walking out of the room. She hadn't noticed his scrutiny of her outfit as she passed him.

She did, however, hear Kisame's roar of laughter.

And Tobi ask, "What's the matter, Itachi-san?"

XXXXX

Deidara exited the kitchen, a bit embarrassed at what Sakura had done to him earlier. He supposed he should have expected her to be a bit ticked off because of his lack of confidence in her. He sighed. He guessed that he shouldn't have questioned her abilities as a kunoichi...he was just…surprised!

As soon as he turned the corner to enter his room, he suddenly felt killing intent. Before he could even reach his clay, a hand was on his throat.

Choking because of the hand that was squeezing his throat so tightly, Deidara was pushed roughly against the wall.

The hallway was completely black, and all Deidara could see was the red of Itachi's Sharingan.

Itachi leaned his head next to Deidara's ear and said murderously,

"Touch her again and I will kill you."

There was no use in arguing that she had done the touching, because one word and Itachi would have snapped Deidara's neck right there, consequences be dammed.

Deidara tried hard to stop himself from wheezing and sounding weak.

"Alright, yeah, now let go of me."

Itachi was gone before Deidara had the chance to inhale his first breath.

Rubbing his neck, he smirked when he realized that Itachi had done something he never had before:

He had just admitted that Sakura was **his** and she was off limits...

to everyone.

OOOOO

**Why did I make Sakura wear Westernized clothing? Because that's what I'm familiar with, as well 90 percent of the rest of you. **

**Reviews are appreciated.**

**Until next time!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Wow…I love you guys. Your reviews make me smile (and type faster)!**

**Well, I was on Spring break this week, and I didn't have access to my computer…so I'm sorry for the wait. But on the plus side…this is the longest chapter so far! And I typed like 20 pages in the past two days! I really like how it's coming along so far, and I hope you guys enjoy it too. **

**There will be character death in the end of the story (Not this chapter and it will be very sad)…just a warning!**

**This is kind of a filler chapter…but things are starting to get interesting hehehe…**

**(That was my evil laugh lol)**

**Can anyone say "Jealous Itachi"?**

**I don't own any of the songs mentioned. **

**I don't own Naruto.**

**(PS. DAMN YOU KISHI! DAMN YOUUUUUUUU!)**

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"You coming?"

The members didn't need telling twice. Trying very hard to look like they weren't excited, they all walked out the door. 

When they approached the door of the club, Itachi pulled Sakura aside.

Before he could say anything, she said,

"Look Itachi, I don't stop you from killing, so just let me do my job. It never goes _that_ far. It doesn't mean anything."

He stared at her for a few moments, and she didn't break eye contact. 

When he nodded, she walked over to the rest of the members. Looking at Hidan, Kisame, Deidara, Sasori, Tobi, and Itachi, she said, 

"For the love of God, try to act normal. Don't draw attention to yourselves, and no matter what happens, do NOT, under any circumstances come over to me. I can handle myself."

With a sigh, Sakura led the way inside. Her fellow Akatsuki members were delaying their entrance to make it seem as though they were not all together. 

The club was dark and extremely hot. She was glad that she decided to wear the skirt instead of the jeans.

'_Okay, well he should be here in about an hour and a half…so until then, I guess I can have fun.'_ Sakura smiled. Looking at the 200 bodies gyrating on the dance floor, she decided that she would find some hot guy to dance with first. Sakura knew that Itachi would be watching her every move, but there was _no way in hell_ he would ever dance with her, so for the time being, he would have to suck it up. 

It was funny how a couple of months ago, she was afraid – well more nervous maybe-- to talk to him because he was…Uchiha Itachi. Also, she was worried she'd let something about Sasuke slip. If there was one good thing about 'joining' Akatsuki, it was that she learned rather good verbal self-control. Today she felt a bit…reckless? She had begun to want to deliberately push him. It was only a matter of time until he snapped. She didn't know what would happen if she pushed him too far.

…

She'd take her chances. 

Looking over at the bar, she decided that she would first try to pick up a guy there. 

Taking a seat, she scanned around to try and find the hottest guy. There were a few cute ones, but she wanted to have fun with someone she found downright steamy. Just as she made eye contact with a drop dead gorgeous black haired man across from her, she felt a tapping on her shoulder. 

She turned to look into the eyes of a handsome young man with bright green eyes and shaggy brown hair. 

'_Not bad_.' Sakura thought to herself.

"Hello, gorgeous. Would you care to dance?"

Sakura smiled at him. "I would like to have a drink first, but if I see you later, I'll save you a dance." She didn't want to let him down, but she wanted to dance with the much hotter guy who was watching their interaction. 

"Alright, I will make a point of looking for you later."

"You got it." She smiled.

She turned back around, looking in the direction of the sexy guy she had seen before, but she noticed that he was no longer there. 

"Can I get you something, sweetheart?" The bartender asked. 

"Vodka and cranberry juice, please." (A/N: Okay, I know this is supposed to be sake, but quite frankly, I'm getting tired of reading it in stories. So, I spiced things up a bit.)

"Here you go." The bartender said as he handed the drink to her. Just as she was about to reach for money out of her bra, 'steamy-guy' (from across the bar) handed the cash over to the bartender.

"I got it." He said, in a sensual voice that almost took Sakura's breath away.

'_Looks like I am going to have more fun than I thought_.' She smiled. 

"Thank you."

He leaned against the bar counter.

"So I saw you blow that other guy off. Either you wanted to get rid of him, or you're waiting for someone else?" He asked as he took a sip of what Sakura assumed was Scotch. 

"I was waiting for someone else, actually, yes." Sakura said with a smile. 

"That's a shame." He said with a smirk.

"A shame for the other men, yes." Sakura could feel Itachi's eyes boring into the side of her head. She had to fight very hard to keep her smirk under control. 

'_Jealous Itachi will be interesting_…'

"Other men?" Steamy-guy asked as he raised a brow.

'_Jesus, this guy could give Itachi a run for his money in the looks department.'_

Steamy guy had black hair that was what Sakura referred to as 'sex hair', meaning it was not short, but not too long either. He was muscular in a lean sort of way, and was about six feet tall from Sakura's estimation. His eyes were the most intriguing part about him: they were a mix of dark forest green and deep purple. He also had a smirk to die for. 

"Yes, men other than you." 

Sakura had to fight from giggling at Itachi's behavior. She could feel him staring, and he was trying very hard to keep his anger in control. She felt his chakra spike at certain points, then the next second he masked it perfectly. 

He put his drink down and took her hand, a smirk still on his face. 

"Well then, shall we dance?"

"Of course." When steamy-guy turned around, Sakura caught Itachi's eye and did something daring—she winked. 

'_Oh, he's going to be pissed now_.' Sakura thought as she stifled laughter.

'_**What the hell has gotten into you today?**_' The other half of Sakura's conscience asked.

'_What? Is it a crime to want to know how far he will go for me?'_

'_**It will turn into a crime when he slaughters half the people in here…**__'_

'_Oh, relax.' _

As she held onto steamy-guy's hand, she couldn't help but think that there was something very familiar about him. He smelled like someone she knew once…she couldn't place who it was…

She took steamy-guy to the edge of the dance floor. Looking around, she saw Kisame at the bar, and Deidara was already on the dance floor with some rather good-looking brown-haired girl. 

"So what's your name?" Steamy-guy asked. 

"Shiori." Sakura answered. "Yours?"

"Takeshi." He breathed in her ear. 

Sakura turned around in order to grind a bit with him. She didn't want to press too hard with some stranger, but there was something about him that put her at ease. 

"I like the Way" By Bodyrockers came on.

"I love this song." Sakura said.

"Me too." Takeshi answered. 

Getting lost in the music, Sakura closed her eyes, put her hands in her hair and started moving a little more forcefully. Takeshi seemed to be a good dancer. He wasn't dancing up on her in a way that would be awkward; he was touching her, but keeping his distance at the same time. Sakura opened her eyes and saw that Itachi had moved his position to about 20 feet diagonally in front of her. She could see his glare, and feel his killing intent from across the floor. He would never admit that he was jealous, just like he would never admit that he had feelings for her…

There was always a fine line that had to be walked whenever around Itachi. He demanded respect, but there was no way in hell she was going to treat him like he was her superior. Tonight, she started off just playing around with Itachi – but now her joke was starting to get serious. That was another line she had to tiptoe. He would be fine—up to a point—and then there was no doubt in her mind that if things got too far, Itachi would kill Takeshi on the spot. Itachi wasn't the type you could 'joke around with', and Sakura knew it. She needed to tone the 'game' down a bit if she wanted everyone to make it out alive.

Sakura sighed. She was going to have fun, damn it. This was probably the most fun she had had in 8 months, and this was the most fun she was going to have for a long time to come… She was going to enjoy herself. 

Grinding herself a bit harder on Takeshi, she started to get lost in the music again. Feeling that 'Shiori' was dancing a bit more forcefully, Takeshi took the liberty of placing his hands in more daring places. He moved his from her waist, and slid one dance down lower, a bit past her navel, and moved the other one farther upward, right under her breast. She didn't seem to mind. 

Sakura glanced down at her watch. She still had a half hour until her target was supposed to arrive. 

Sakura felt someone's eyes on her, and looked up to see Deidara smiling at her while grinding with the brunette. _God_, he looked so fucking sexy in this light. She couldn't read to look in his eye. She couldn't tell if he was asking her if she was okay, or to warn her that Itachi was currently walking across the dance floor – 

Wait! WHAT?

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Itachi coming up to her. 

'_Shit. Did I push him too far?_'

She then realized that Takeshi had bolted. That was fast…

She glanced over at Itachi who, incidentally, also looking rather delectable in the flashing lights. 

Why did Akatsuki have so many good-looking guys? 

She looked around again and saw that Itachi had disappeared. Apparently he was trying to scare guys aware from her. She held back a pout. 

It worked. 

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ten minutes left until _he_ arrived. 

If she wanted to get this over with as soon as possible, she needed a way to draw attention to herself. She looked at the DJ and noticed that next to him, there was a bit of a platform that she could stand on. 

_Got it. _

She made her way across the crowd, feeling Itachi's eyes on her the entire way. 

"That boy needs to learn how to relax and take the stick out of his ass." She mumbled to herself. 

She looked over at Itachi and noticed he was smirking. 

"Damn it, I forgot he could read lips." She said, turning back around. She jumped up next to the DJ and whispered her request in his ear. He nodded and handed her a microphone. 

"Sing along with me!" Sakura yelled to the crowd.

Everyone who knew the words shouted,

_**What are we supposed to do?**_

_**After all that we've been through.**_

_**When everything that felt so right is wrong**_

_**Now that the love is gone.**_

_**There is nothing left to prove,**_

_**Now here's to deny that simple truth,**_

_**Can't find a reason to keep holding on. **_

_**Now that the love is gone.**_

_**There is nothing left to prove,**_

_**Now here's to deny that simple truth,**_

_**Can't find a reason to keep holding on. **_

_**Now that the love is gone.**_

Sakura laughed. She hadn't had this much fun on a mission in a long time. 

She stayed on stage to dance. She decided that dancing provocatively would a bit over the top, so she decided that she would dance as though she was having the time of her life. 

Sakura saw her target walk to the back of the club to the VIP lounge. He wasn't bad looking, but he certainly wasn't a looker. He looked up to see that she was the only one who was dancing on stage, and their eyes met for a brief second. She gave him a smile, and a wink, which he returned. She watched as he walked towards the back room, and before he went through the door, he whispered something to his 'bodyguard' while jerking a thumb in Sakura's direction. She saw the man nod. Her target watched her for a few minutes then walked behind the curtain into the VIP Lounge.

Arms over her head, and twisting her hips to the beat, the chorus came back on, and everyone sang along.

_**What are we supposed to do?**_

_**After all that we've been through.**_

_**When everything that felt so right is wrong**_

Sakura held the microphone out to the crowd. Everyone shouted,

_**Now that the love is gone.**_

_**There is nothing left to prove,**_

_**Now here's to deny that simple truth,**_

_**Can't find a reason to keep holding on. **_

_**Now that the love is gone.**_

_**There is nothing left to prove,**_

_**Now here's to deny that simple truth,**_

_**Can't find a reason to keep holding on. **_

_**Now that the love is gone.**_

_**Love is gone…**_

XXXXXXXXX

Itachi watched Sakura on stage with a small smirk on his lips. With his arms folded, he mentally sighed…things were getting rather complicated. He never in a million years thought that he would ever be **this** attracted to a female. But there was something different about her. He found that her naivety about the shinobi world didn't annoy him. She made her way into his ice-block of a heart by becoming his friend first, not some stupid drooling fangirl. There was one problem though: he knew that if he continued this, she would become his weakness. And _that_, could **not **happen. But what angered him the most was that he didn't _want_ her to die…He _would_ care if someone killed her…in fact, the thought of her dying…

…**scared** him. 

His eyes narrowed. Uchiha Itachi didn't fear anything. And now he was afraid of some petite pink-haired girl dying? He needed to end this—and quickly. 

'_Why?_' a voice said in his head.

'_Because I am a tool…I don't deserve to be happy with her._'

But what if he protected her himself? He didn't really mind. 

'_But I should mind_,' he told himself. '_This is exactly the problem_.'

Mental sigh. 

He needed to figure out what to do before she melted his heart entirely. 

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Itachi was not going to be pleased. She knew that she and her target were going to do 'business' out of the public eye, but she never voiced this suspicion. Itachi was a smart guy, and he probably knew this, but he still would not be happy about it. 

Well, there was nothing she could do about Itachi's anger. This was her mission, and she needed to complete it. After the song was over, she jumped off her makeshift stage, and once again went back to the dance floor. Where had Takeshi gone? His sudden disappearance was strange. She shouldn't really be concentrating on some guy she just met. She shook her head in an attempt to get rid of thinking about him. She felt like they had met somewhere before. 

Suddenly, Sakura felt her stomach drop. What if he was a shinobi? Maybe that's why she felt like there was something familiar about him? What was his mission? There was something off about this situation, but if she spent anymore time thinking about it, she was going to fail her own mission. Leader would be far less than pleased. 

She knew she had to wait for her target's 'bodyguard' to come and invite her into the back. But the waiting, Itachi being unhappy, and this 'Takeshi' person were all making this 'simple' mission into something more complex. 

'_What if Takeshi knows I'm a kunoichi? Is he working for my target?'_

'_Concentrate! We'll deal with that later.'_

Taking a deep breath, Sakura made her way into the middle of the crowd. After about ten minutes, Sakura felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to catch a glance at the bodyguard before he whispered in her ear,

"You're wanted in the VIP room. Follow me please."

"Of course." Sakura smiled.

In the crowd, she saw Deidara giving her a wink and a nod of good luck. As she continued to make her way to the room, she saw Itachi standing in the shadows, Sharingan on. 

"Excuse me, might I freshen up first?" Sakura asked the bodyguard. 

He looked her over for a moment. "Sure, but make it quick."

Sakura nodded, then headed off to the right, down the hallway towards the bathroom. She knew that Itachi would have seen the exchange, and would be appearing any second now. 

Sure enough, just before she could put her hand on the handle of the bathroom, she felt him grab her arm and push her against the wall. He didn't, however, pin her there with his body. He was holding her in place with just his arms. 

"Itachi," she sighed. 

"Be careful." He said, with no hint as to his inner turmoil. He didn't want anyone touching something that 'belonged' to him. 

"I am always am, Itachi." Sakura gave him a small smile. She knew what this was really about. She could see his anguish in the way his hands were clenched, and in the way his left eye twitched a bit when he looked at her. She knew he was a man of...almost no words…but she could read his body language like a charm, no matter how hard he tried to hide it. 

"Please, trust me. I've done this so many times. I know what I am doing, really."

"It's not you I don't trust." He said after a few moments. 

"I can handle myself," Sakura was now trying to hide her impatience. "And besides, I'm sure you will be right outside the door were anything to happen."

"Hn." _Yes_. 

Sakura smiled. "Okay, then. Now will you excuse me, there is some business that I need to attend to." 

She was debating whether or not to give him a quick kiss, but she then decided against it, knowing that Itachi was not one for public displays of affection. The fact that he was worried about her was all she needed. 

Just as she was about to walk away, he grabbed her arm and took her face in his hands. He looked at her for a moment, and gave her a soft kiss that was filled with comfort. She could feel his worry, but she was strangely comforted. She smiled at him after the kiss, as if to reassure him in her own way. As she was walking to the VIP lounge, she smiled at the way Itachi could make her feel so many emotions at once. He could make her angry one second and make her completely content the next. 

Unbelievable. 

It wasn't until a few seconds later that she realized – with a small smile— that that was their first kiss. The pair wasn't 'exclusive' as Ino would say, but there was an unwritten rule in the Akatsuki household that if anyone touched Sakura, there would be hell to pay.

And 'Hell' would be doled out by Itachi. 

Stopping outside the VIP area, she took a deep breath. _'I hope this guy gives me the information I need with just a lap dance._'

They usually do. 

Before she walked through the door, something happened that had not occurred in almost three years; she suddenly felt as though her head was going to explode from pain. 

Shit. 

Sigh. 

Why does something always happen to me?

She then felt the overwhelming need to vomit. Using the door to prop herself up, she put he left hand on her stomach. 

"Is everything okay?" The bodyguard asked. 

_No_. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Something was wrong. She hadn't felt this bad since that time three years ago when she was on a mission and had gotten stabbed in the back by a Rock nin. 

Something was going to happen – 

and it was going to be bad.

Motherfucker. 

She didn't have time to tell Itachi. The bodyguard was bound to get curious if she excused herself again. She could only hope that whatever it was, it would be something she could handle without the rest of Akatsuki. 

Why couldn't things ever go as planned?

Whatever it was, she'd have to deal with it when the time came. 

She was determined to complete this mission. Walking through the curtain, she saw her target surrounded by six girls. He was drinking what looked like a martini. She had to get him alone somehow. 

For some unknown reason, luck was on her side this time, because when he saw her, he dismissed his other girls. 

They pouted as they left, and Sakura watched them leave. When they left, he spoke.

"I've been waiting for you."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Um… I didn't mean for that to be a cliffie…it just seemed like the right spot to end things. The next one will be out quickly. I just have to proofread it. I really am trying veryyy hard to keep Itachi in character, but let's face it…would Itachi ever get involved with a girl? Nope. So I guess he is OCC from the very beginning…oh well.**

**I really appreciate your feedback!**

**Thanks again guys.**

**PS. I am almost finished with the story, and I figure that there will be about 15 chapters total. However, I am willing to listen to any ideas people may have for the story. So if anyone has some ideas, let me know!**


	4. Chapter 4

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO 3/15/08

**Erm...(waves awkwardly) Hello again…**

**So, (whistles innocently) long time no see!**

**I am really sorry this took me so long. College is hectic. **

**Anyway, things are starting to get more interesting. **

**I started a new story…I will post it as the next chapter, so please review and tell me what you think!**

**For those of you who are reading Taking Chances, that'll be the next update!**

**Don't own Naruto.**

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Sakura smiled.

"I enjoyed your little performance on stage."

Sakura's smile widened.

"I'm glad I provided you with entertainment," she purred.

It was his turn to smirk.

"Would you like more?" She asked, taking slow steps towards him. When she got closer, she noticed that he seemed rather intoxicated. This was either good luck or bad. If Sakura had to guess, she'd say that somehow it would turn out to be bad. There was just something about tonight that made her wary.

She wanted to get this over with as soon as possible. She wanted to complete her mission successfully, but she realized that there were things that were more important than getting some information out of some scumbag for some stupid Kage who didn't have good enough kunoichis to do it himself. Oh, she was a pessimist tonight, all right. Even though Leader had entrusted her with this mission, she knew he really didn't give a shit about it. If the Kage gave him a problem about it, Leader would probably slit his throat.

Mentally sighing, Sakura walked over to the gold couch this man was sitting on and straddled his lap, a knee on either side of his thighs. Putting her right hand on the back of the couch, she was careful to let him have an eyeful oh her cleavage. She could sense his heart beating faster already. Sakura rolled her eyes as he was staring at her chest.

'_All men are the same_…'

Careful not to put any weight on him just yet, she asked,

"Would you like anything to drink?" Not waiting for an answer, she turned around (with some difficulty) and poured him some sake. She then decided to drink it herself, licking her lips obviously afterwards. She turned again, poured him some more and handed him the cup. She almost laughed out loud when he deliberately put his mouth exactly where she put hers.

He then handed her the cup and she set it back down. He raised his hands to her hips, but she patted them back down.

"No touching just yet." She gave him a small crooked smile.

She started to twist her body to the music.

"So, what's your name?" She asked, running her hands over her exposed stomach and up into her hair.

"Takeshi."

Sakura felt her stomach drop.

'_There it is. Bad Omen number 2_.'

Sakura giggled. Bending over she said next to his ear, "I like that name."

Sakura had a strong urge to get this over with. She didn't have to desire to play around like she usually did. Her plan? Get him more drunk than he already was.

And a good plan it was.

Stopping her movements, but setting her weight completely on his lap to satisfy him somewhat, she turned around and poured him another shot. He took it gladly.

_Moron_.

After setting his glass back down on the table, she went back to her movements. She was a bit more forceful this time. She ran her hands up and down his torso, and then leaned and pushed her breasts practically in his face.

"Do you have a family?" She asked in a sultry voice.

_This is awkward. Who wants to talk about their family when they're getting a lap dance? _

Luckily he was drunk, otherwise she would never bring up family. It was too risky. '_But desperate times call for desperate measures…_'

"Yeah, my son is 15."

_Bingo_.

"Oh? What's his name?" She decided to grind against him lightly. Her actions had the desired effect.

"Yuki." He answered, his breathing labored.

_Double Bingo_.

"Where do you live?" She asked as she leaned back slightly, arching into him.

She saw his eyes narrow a bit. "Why?" He asked a bit forcefully.

Sakura smiled and whispered in his ear.

"Just incase I want to pay you a nighttime visit sometime."

_How dense could this guy possibly be?_

"I live on Osaka Street in Mist."

"I'll keep that in mind."

She then kissed him on the lips in order to distract him from the poison injection she was giving him in the arm.

He promptly passed out.

'_Well, that went smoothly_…'

She got up off the couch and walked out the door.

"Your boss just passed out," she informed the bodyguard. He nodded. Apparently, this was not a rare occurrence.

She walked back out into the flashing lights. She saw Itachi standing against the wall to her left watching her every move.

As she was walking towards him, she was looking at his pose. He was leaning against the wall, arms folded, and looked like he didn't have a care in the world. It painfully reminded her about someone.

'_I hope he's okay_.'

Looking at Itachi everyday was a constant reminder of _him_. She didn't love him like she used to, but she still considered him one of her best friends, even if people considered him a traitor. She had once considered him a traitor too, not only to his village, but to her heart as well.

The only way she could describe her feelings was with one word: confusion. Her feelings were hard to put into one word. All she knew for sure was that she wanted him to return to Konoha safely. That much, she was sure. She never could shake the never-ending nagging at her heart. She lived everyday wondering if he was alive, where he was, and what he was doing.

And how could she forget _that_ night two years ago?

"Is something bothering you?" Itachi asked monotonously out of seeming curiosity -- but she knew better. He would have asked about the mission first if he really didn't care about how she was feeling. She hadn't even realized she was already standing in front of him, her eyes downcast.

She didn't answer. "Well everything went smoothly. I got the Junchuuriki's location."

Itachi eyed her for a moment. He could see the pain in her eyes. However, this was not the time to discuss it.

"Very well," he said as he pushed himself off the wall. "Let's go." Sakura followed him.

Sakura was about to open her mouth and ask how Itachi planned on gathering up the 'crowd' but before she could, Kisame appeared in front of her, his gait unsteady.

"Time t' go?" He asked.

"Hn."

Deidara appeared next. "Where's Tobi?"

Sakura looked around. She spotted him sitting in a red plush chair, getting some attention from two brunette girls. His hands were raised in an "I'm innocent" gesture. Sakura snorted when one of the girls started giving him a semi-lap dance.

"Er…should someone help him?" Sakura asked.

Deidara followed her line of sight. His eyes grew wide when he saw Tobi and he started laughing. After a few seconds, he was laughing so hard that he was bent over holding his stomach.

Itachi 'Hn'ed and Sakura rolled her eyes. Pushing her way through the crowd, she spotted 'Takeshi' in the crowd staring at her. Her stomach did flip-flops as she stopped walking (forgetting all about Tobi) and she watched as he made his way towards her, a smirk in place. The only thing she could do was pray that Itachi wasn't watching.

When Takeshi stopped right in front of her, she noticed how tall he was. She held her breath when he stooped down to her level and whispered in her ear,

"Leaving so soon?" His voice sounded so familiar…like velvet…

"Yeah," she answered back, doubting that she sounded as sexy as he did.

He stood back up, crossed his arms, and smirked one of the sexiest smirks she had ever seen in her life.

'_He looks just like…'_

Realization dawned as though she had been doused with ice water.

'_Oh God…_no.'

Sakura felt like her entire body had gone numb.

'_No…it couldn't be. There is no way._'

Sakura tried to swallow, but her mouth had grown numb.

"It was a pleasure meeting you, Shiori," he said as he stuck out his hand.

She didn't know how long she tried to find her voice, until she managed to squeak out,

"The pleasure is all mine." She said, finding her voice.

He looked in her eyes for a couple of moments.

"Perhaps we shall meet again." He said over the music.

At this point, Sakura knew that Itachi was reading both her and 'Takeshi's' lips.

"Maybe." She said with a smile and walked over to…save Tobi.

She turned around just before she got to Tobi and Takeshi was nowhere to be seen.

'_Weird…'_

Sakura cleared her throat. "Excuse me ladies." The two brunettes disentangled themselves from Tobi who (well, Sakura assumed) looked dazed.

"Can I help you?" The taller brunette with blue eyes asked.

Sakura didn't answer and offered Tobi a hand. "Come on, Lover Boy." Tobi stood up.

"Goodnight, Ladies." Sakura said.

Tobi was either drunk—which Sakura doubted—or he was just in shock, because he didn't say anything.

When they got back to members, Itachi raised an eyebrow. Deidara, however, asked what Itachi wanted to know.

"Who the hell was that?" Deidara spit out, his arms crossed, and his eyes narrowed.

"No one important." Sakura sighed. She really didn't want to do this now. She wanted to take a shower and get some sleep, for crying out loud.

"Ya two surrre seem'd … cozyyy." Kisame slurred.

Sakura didn't dare look at Itachi, knowing that he would be able to read her eyes.

"Really, it was no one. He was just someone I danced with before…the mi—ya know."

Deidara and Itachi didn't seem convinced.

"Can we please leave?" She practically begged.

Itachi watched her for a few more moments, and then he led the way out of the club with the thumping music that was starting to give Sakura a headache.

'_Urgh…I really don't feel well…'_

Suddenly the music stopped, and a band took the stage. Sakura paid little attention to it, however, and kept walking.

"This song was written by a girl I knew once. She loved me, but I wouldn't give her the time of day. Then I left her."

Sakura stopped dead, knowing that it was 'Takeshi' speaking.

"I haven't seen her in years, and I just want to let her know that I'm safe…and I'm sorry." He said in a whisper.

'_Don't turn around. Don't turn around. Don't turn around.'_

What Sakura heard next erased any doubts she had about this 'Takeshi' character.

It also made her insides freeze.

Sakura couldn't move.

She couldn't breath.

It was those familiar tambourines and drum beat…

…and the tears came before she could stop them.

And they didn't stop.

'_Oh my God…'_

**OOOOOOOOOOO**

**Might I say that I really did laugh evilly just now? Lol**

**I'm sure everyone knows who Takeshi is…I wanted it to be obvious.**

**If you don't know, then you will find out next chapter!**

**Next chapter is fun…**

…**dare I say…some lemonish scenes? **

—**but, the question is…who will it be between? GASP!**

**See you hopefully within the next two weeks!**


	5. Chapter 5

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

**Thanks everyone so much for the positive feedback! Your reviews were all so nice. I really do appreciate it. It's amazing how stories just pop into your head, huh?**

**Anyway, the reason why this story is rated M is this chapter. Don't say I didn't warn you. It's not as graphic as some of the things I've read, but still…**

**If I owned Naruto, it would be an ItaSaku…**

…**and Itachi would walk around shirtless in every scene. **

**P.S. If you **_**really**_** want a sense of the emotion I felt when writing this, then listen the **'The Fuse' by Bruce Springsteen**. **

**WARNING: An OCC Sasuke**

**OOOOOOOOOOO**

'_Oh my God… How is this possible_?'

Sakura couldn't stop the chills when she heard _her_ lyrics.

_**Down at the court house they're ringin' the flag down**_

_**Long black line of cars snakin' slow through town**_

_**Red sheets snappin' on the line**_

_**With this ring will you be mine?**_

Where did he get them? She wrote this song for _him_! How could he possibly have known that?

'_How –?_'

Sakura closed her eyes and thought back to them time when she was sitting in her room, crying _once again_ for him. It was also that night that she came to a realization: crying wasn't accomplishing anything for anyone. Instead, she decided she was going to write a song for him. So, she wrote a song lamenting his 'death'.

_**The fuse is burning**_

_**Shut out the lights**_

_**The fuse is burning**_

_**Come on let me do you right**_

"Sakura?" Sasori turned around and asked her when he realized she had stopped walking.

Luckily for her, he was the only one who had noticed. From what she could tell, all the others were already outside.

She lifted her head to look him in the eye. She saw his eyes widen when he saw the tears.

"What's—" he started.

"I think I forgot something."

He didn't buy it.

"Sakura—" He said in a warning tone.

"Sasori, please." Sakura whispered.

Sasori didn't look pleased, but nodded.

"I'll hold them off as long as I can."

Sakura tried to smile. He turned around, and walked out the door.

Sakura wrangled enough strength to turn around. There he was, in his regular form standing on the dance floor in front of the stage, looking like he didn't have a care in the world. Whoever the man was singing this song, Sakura didn't know…but it didn't matter. She honestly couldn't believe her heart was still beating when she saw him staring at her.

_**Trees on fire with first fall's frost**_

_**Long black line front of Holy Cross**_

_**Blood moon risin' in a sky of black dust **_

_**Tell me Baby who do you trust?**_

_**The fuse is burning**_

_**Shut out the lights**_

_**The fuse is burning**_

_**Come on let me do you right**_

It was as though they were the only two people in the club. Because _her_ song wasn't really a dance song, the occupants of the club decided that it was a good opportunity to either sit at the nearest table or head over to the bar. There were a few couples, however, that remained and slow danced to the beat.

They didn't break eye contact while he gave her a small smirk. Sakura returned the small smile as her tears began to leak out heavier than before. This was one of the sweetest things anyone had ever done for her. She really couldn't figure out where he would have gotten her music. She didn't think she ever let it out of her room…

_**Tires on the highway hissin' something's come**_

_**feel the wires and the tree tops hummin'**_

_**Devil's on the horizon line**_

_**Your kiss and I'm alive**_

Sakura closed her eyes and thought back to _that_ night_. _

_Flashback:_

_After a long shift at the hospital, Sakura was extremely happy when she finally walked into her apartment. She had expected to go home, take a bubble bath, and get a great night's sleep before her mission tomorrow. _

_The last thing she expected, however, was to see Uchiha Sasuke bleeding profusely on her couch. _

_She ran over to him. "Sasuke! What the hell are you doing here?" She tried rather hard to sound angry, but she only managed to achieve sounding frantic. _

_He didn't answer. He just continued staring at her, looking at how she had changed in the four years they were separated. _

_Without thinking twice, she pumped her chakra into his system to see how severe the damage was. _

"_Shit," she mumbled when she realized his organs were in disarray. _

_She could have sworn she saw him smirk. _

"_This is going to be painful," she told him. "I don't have that much chakra left, so I don't have any to spare to ease your pain."_

_He didn't seem to care. _

"_How did you get this injury?" She asked him._

_No answer._

…

…

…

"_You look good." He said after an hour or so. She was so shocked that she almost fell over. _

"_Thanks?" She said a bit uncertainly. _

_He smirked again. _

…

…

…

"_Why are you in my living room?" She asked after another hour. _

"_Orochimaru sent me here to steal a scroll from Tsunade's office about Konoha's defense structure."_

"_You already know about it, why didn't you just tell him?" Sakura asked, her heart dropping a bit. _

_He looked at her, expecting her to piece it together. _

"_I couldn't find it," he said, almost smiling as though it was his own private joke. _

"_How could you not – Oh!" Sakura said. She let out a low laugh. _

"_And what's going to happen to you because you couldn't find it?" She asked, emphasizing the last three words. _

"_Probably nothing. He needs me remember?" _

"_Ah." She said and smiled. If it ever came to it, she supposed this could be used in Sasuke's favor if he were ever put on trial. He didn't tell Orochimaru about Konoha's defense when specifically asked, nor did he retrieve the scroll when it was explicitly his mission to do so. _

"_All done," she said, watching as he sat up. _

_Sakura couldn't help it when her heart started to beat a bit quicker because his face was only six inches away from hers. _

"_Better?" She asked quietly. _

_He looked into her gorgeous green eyes. _

"_Much." He said as he leaned in to give her a tender, soft kiss. _

_She pulled away and looked into his eyes questioningly. Why was he doing this? _

_He just continued to look at her and raised his hand to stroke her cheek with his thumb. This action gave Sakura strange comfort. She leaned into his again, kissing him more forcefully this time, hardly noticing that her heart wasn't breaking as she thought it would. _

_Although Sakura didn't think she was in love with him the way she used to be, that didn't mean that the fire she felt while kissing him was any less. Things started to get heated quickly, and before she knew it, Sasuke had carried her into her bedroom. _

"_You need to rest, Sasuke." Sakura mumbled soflt against his lips as they crossed through the doorway._

"_Later." He said in a husky tone, closing the door behind him. _

_Walking them over to the bed, Sasuke carefully placed her down on the bed, not breaking their fierce kiss. _

_As his mouth trailed down the side of her neck, he heard her say softly,_

"_Sasuke, stop."_

_He immediately stopped his sweet torture and looking into her glistening eyes. _

_Raising his eyebrow in question when she didn't respond, she took a deep breath. _

"_I'm so happy you're alive." Sakura said as she leaned in for another kiss. She felt him give a small smile against her lips. _

_After a few moments, he pulled away. _

"_You know I can't come back and stay here."_

_Sakura studied him for a few moments. _

_She sighed._

"_I don't understand you, Sasuke, nor do I agree with the way you've gone about things, but I've accepted it." She looked at him and gave him a sad smile. "But I'll wait. I'll wait forever if I have to." _

_Sasuke looked a bit shocked and perhaps…hopeful?_

"_You still love me after all these years?"_

_Sakura smiled sadly. "Not in the way you're thinking. You're one of my best friends, Sasuke, and no matter what you do, I'll never give up on you, and neither will Naruto." _

_Sasuke looked grateful, and smiled a bit. _

"_If you don't love me…then why?" He looked down at her lying underneath him, and genuinely looked curious. _

"_Because we both need this," she whispered as she pulled him down for another passion filled kiss. She reached her hands under his shirt, and outlined the muscles of his abdomen and chest with her fingers. He tangled one of his hands in her hair while the other hand outlined the curve of her side, eventually running down to the back of her thigh. He pulled her leg up in order to have more contact with her. His actions had the desired affect as she let out a long moan. _

"_Sasuke," she let out a breathy moan and he ran his teeth over a soft spot underneath her ear._

_The way she sounded and the way she was clawing at his clothes evaporated whatever little self-control he had left. _

"_Please," she breathed, "take it off." She tugged his shirt over his head, and tugged at the waistline of his pants. _

_Before she knew it, all their clothes were off and thrown across the room. _

_Resuming their fiery kiss, Sakura couldn't help the tingles of excitement and anticipation run down her spine. Wrapping her bare legs around his waist, she let her fingers wander down his back, and then up again, which earned her a growl. Without warning, Sasuke entered her swiftly. _

"_Oh my God," she moaned. Arching her back, she closed her eyes and tried to lift herself to match his movements. He continued to kiss her neck and shoulder, while they both panted. _

"_Sasuke," damn, the way she said his name was toxic, "faster." _

_Not hesitating to oblige, he increased his speed, and the frame of the bed started to hit the wall slightly. _

"_Oh God," she yelled, when he hit a particular sensitive spot. Her mind seemed to be oblivious to everything else but her and him. Because of his increased speed, Sakura held onto him tighter. Nails raking over his skin, she realized that he had been grunting for some time. Her mind seemed to sharpen, and had it been a different situation, she might have laughed. She didn't even think Sasuke was capable of such sounds. Knowing that Sasuke would be put-off if he heard her laughing, she pushed it out of her mind. After a while however, she began to _crave_ the sounds he made. Deciding to try something, she lifted her face to Sasuke's ear, and deliberately made her breath dance across the side of his face. _

"_Sasuke," she moaned, "you make me so hot." _

_He seemed to falter for a second, surprised at her forwardness, but with a renewed vigor, he continued. _

_Angling her head so she could reach his neck, she bit him gently where his neck met his shoulder. Reveling in the fact that she just made him shudder and groan in the span of two minutes, she continued. _

_Suddenly, she felt herself tipping over the edge. _

"_Sasuke!" She screamed as she arched her back and closed her eyes. _

_Not being able to hold on when he felt her walls tighten around him, he closed his eyes as well as he felt pleasure wash over him. _

"_Sakura," he groaned. _

_Thoroughly spent, he collapsed on the bed. Sakura turned her head and saw a bead of sweat roll down his neck. For some reason, it made her giggle._

"_What's so funny?" He asked, raising his head off the pillow to look at her. _

_She smiled. "I just…never thought this would happen." _

_He smirked slightly. "I did."_

_She suddenly felt embarrassed. "You…did?" Was she that easy to read all these years? _

…

…_Of course she was. _

"_Yep." He said, smugly and relaxed once more. _

_Deciding to take the offensive, she said,_

"_Oh, shut up you arrogant prick."_

_He looked over to her and raised a brow._

_She smiled smugly, "You are just trying to draw attention away from the fact that you are turned-on by my sexiness." _

_He opened his mouth to reply… then suddenly, he started laughing. _

_She looked at him incredulously, shocked by his laughter, but joined in not long after. _

…

…

…

_Their laughter died down and after a few minutes of silence, _

"_Do you trust me, Sakura?" He asked, seriously._

"_Of course." She said as she kissed him again. He pulled away after a few seconds. _

_Her eyes widened when she saw him do hand signals. His pointer and middle fingers glowed black. _

"_What are you doing?" She asked evenly, surprised at her lack of fear. _

"_Turn around," he said. _

_She instead continued to look into his gorgeous black eyes. _

"_I am giving you a seal that will allow you to know whether I am alive or not. That is what you fear, correct?" _

_Sakura was speechless. He actually cared about her feelings?_

"_I do not wish for you to live your life wondering whether or not I am alive. The seal will glow red and hot if I am near to death, or dead."_

_Sakura smiled sadly at him. "Yes, that is something I fear." She turned to lie on her stomach. _

_For a moment, Sasuke was a bit shocked at her level of trust in him, but he quickly pushed that thought out of his mind. He trusted her too…_

"_This will hurt," he said. She nodded. _

_He placed his fingers in between her shoulder blades. He heard her take a deep breath before he pressed his fingers into her skin. She didn't make a sound, but he saw her hands grab the sheets. He then watched in amazement as she concentrated her healing chakra to her back, which glowed green. Her abilities never ceased to amaze him. _

_She turned back around to face him. _

"_What does it look like?" She asked looking into his eyes. _

_His only answer was a smirk and a tender kiss. _

_After looking at her for a few moments, he rolled off of her, and put one hand behind his head, and the other on his stomach. Watching him stare at the moonlight reflected on the ceiling, Sakura asked,_

"_What are you thinking about?" She snuck a bit closer to him, hoping he would allow her to be close to him. _

"_The things I've done." He answered flatly. _

_She considered this for a few moments. _

"_Do you…regret them?" She asked timidly, not wanting to raise his temper._

"_No." He answered almost immediately. _

…

"…_and yes." He admitted. _

_A bit surprised by his honest answer, her head snapped up._

"_What do you regret, Sasuke?" She asked gently._

_For a few moments, Sakura thought she saw an internal struggle play across his face. She almost thought he would answer, but then,_

"_Go to sleep, Sakura." He said softly. _

_Not wanting to argue, she drifted off, knowing she had to wake up early for her mission. _

_XXXXX_

"_I'm sorry," Sasuke whispered when she stood up to put her clothes on. _

"_I know," she said quietly while she slipped into her shorts. _

_Sasuke watched her as she picked up her pack and weapons that were strewn about the room. The way she looked in the early morning sunlight made Sasuke want to pull her back into the bed, but he knew he couldn't. _'I know'_ wasn't the answer he was looking for. After all her belongings were with her, she walked over to the door, opened it and rested her hands on the frame. He heard her sigh. _

"_If you don't care for me than why did you…?" She asked. _

_He was silent for a few long moments. _

"_I needed to know that you were really __**here**__." At this, she turned around. _

…

…

"_And I needed to know that you were really alive." She whispered as she approached the bed one more time. Seeing her walk over, he sat up, shirtless. He didn't open his mouth and just watched as she walked around the bed to the side he was sitting on. Pausing for a moment, she lifted her right hand, and for a second, Sasuke thought she was going to touch his cheek. Instead, she rested her hand on his heart. She closed her eyes, and just concentrated on the beating heart beneath her hands. For the first time in his miserable life, Sasuke felt…touched. He felt…moved. For a fleeting moment, he felt hope—that everything was going to be okay. He looked at her face with astonished eyes and felt genuine sadness when he saw tears leak out from underneath her closed eyelids. After what felt like hours, she opened her eyes and removed her hand from his warm chest. She bent down and kissed him on the cheek, before pulling away she whispered, _

"_Please be careful." She stood up, watched him nod, and walked towards the door again, stopping when she heard,_

"_Sakura, I really am sorry." _

_She turned her head sideways, just enough to show she heard him with her back turned. _

_It took every ounce of strength in her body to say,_

"_You're forgiven."_

_End of Flashback_

Sakura really was grateful that she had forgiven him. Her forgiveness had allowed her to move on in life. Although at first, she thought that sleeping with him would make things awkward (not that she had cared at that particular moment), apparently it proved to Sasuke that she had moved on. She didn't understand his logic, but she was extremely glad.

Sakura was suddenly quite aware that she didn't know how much longer the Akatsuki members would wait outside. She prayed Sasori came up with a good story. Regaining focus, she directed her attention back to the stage where Sasuke was still staring at her.

_**Quiet afternoon an empty house **_

_**On the edge of bed you slip off your blouse**_

_**The room is burning with the noon sun**_

_**Your bittersweet taste on my tongue**_

_**The fuse is burning**_

_**Shut out the lights**_

_**The fuse is burning**_

After the song was over, Sakura realized she had a huge smile on her face. He made his way across the dance floor amidst loud applause for the male singer.

She kept smiling as he walked up to her. Words were not exchanged, as the band stayed on stage and played another song. She felt the tears come as he looked at her. She raised her right hand slowly and placed it over his heart. She let the tears slide down as she felt his steady heartbeat.

She let out a small laugh and dropped her hand.

"It really does work," he said, referring to her seal. She nodded.

"I can't stay long." She whispered.

"I know," he said.

"How did you –"

"I found it in your room that morning." He replied.

"Ahh." She smiled.

Silence.

"Thank you. That was beautiful."

Sasuke gave her a nod.

"Be careful, Sakura," Sasuke said seriously.

Sakura felt her stomach drop as she realized that he must have seen the Akatsuki members.

Sakura was grateful that he didn't push the subject and ask her questions. Honestly, she didn't know what to say. He must have seen Itachi…

Sasuke saw the fear in her eyes.

"I'll give you more time…" He said seriously. _It's the only thing I can give you. "_… but he _will_ die."

She nodded. She desperately wanted to ask why he was giving her more time, but she knew he wouldn't answer.

"Are you still with…_him_?" She asked.

He nodded.

"I have to go." She said.

He nodded again.

"It was good to see you, again." She said with a smile.

"Don't worry about me, Sakura."

'_Enjoy the time he has left…_'

"Goodbye Sasuke."

Feeling a small sense of relief, Sakura made her way through the crowd and walked through the door.

"Is everything okay?" Deidara asked.

Sakura looked at her fellow members one by one, her eyes eventually landing on Itachi's emotionless gaze. She gave him a large, genuine smile. He raised a brow, obviously a bit put off by her sudden happiness.

'_I'll give you more time…_'

She then looked up at the stars twinkling above and said,

"It will be."

OOOOOO

**Whew, that was quite the chapter. And here I am, revising it when I should be doing my final paper…oh, well. I hope you enjoyed it. Sorry to those who thought the lemon was between Sakura and Itachi. That was why I put the semi-warning in the last chapter. **

**Expect the unexpected, my friends. Expect the unexpected. **

**Until next time. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Once again, thanks for your feedback! I want to know what you like/don't like so I can improve. **

**I really liked last chapter, but it was too much SasuSaku! So, I thought I'd give you some ItaSaku development. **By the way, this is an ****extremely**** important chapter. This chapter hints at what made Itachi the way he is (in my story, anyway). Let's see if anyone can pick it up… Enjoy!**

**I don't own. **

**I was listening to Kate Havenik's 'Nowhere Warm' for the last part of this chapter.**

**REVISION JULY 1****st****, 2008**

OOOOOO

_Four months prior_

_She raced through the trees and the hunter-nins chased her. _

Damn it. They better believe this.

_Dimly, she wondered what exactly it would be like to be a missing-nin and running all the time. What's it like to know that you're all alone? To know that there's no one you can call, there's no one there to console you when something happens? _

_No friends, no family, nothing? _

_Hoping the act she and her fellow Konoha hunter-nin's were putting up was believable, she continued running. She had felt two enormous chakra signatures a while back, and she knew it was Akatsuki. Living out of Konoha for the past 3 months meant that she was out of the loop. She figured that Tsunade had broadcasted the fact that Sakura had 'killed' her entire 'team', so she knew (or hoped, rather) that Akatsuki would be after her. But there was always the chance that they were preoccupied with catching Jinchuuriki's of course—_

"_Haruno Sakura." _

Damn_, she could run her hands over that voice. _

_Stopping her running, she glanced over to a tree branch to her right. _

_Her eyes narrowed_. Itachi.

_Clenching her fists to keep from ringing that life-ruiner's neck, she decided to play it feisty. _

"_What do you want Uchiha Itachi?"_

_He raised a brow at being spoken to in such a manner, but the coldness in his eyes did not waver. Without betraying what he was feeling at that particular moment, he continued._

"_Are you Haruno Sakura?"_

_She snorted. "Obviously."_

_A large blue figure she knew as Kisame materialized next to his partner. He looked from his emotionless partner, to the girl who could not hide her emotions to save her life._

Quite the opposites, _he thought. _

_Itachi kept his distance, as did Kisame. _

"_I'm sure your Sharingan hasn't blinded you _so_ much that you fail to notice I'm being chased by hunter-nins." She said with her hands on her hips. That arrogant smirk of his was almost cemented to his lips._

_It was no wonder Sasuke hated him._

_Itachi stood there, while Kisame looked almost nervous. There was no way that his partner was going to allow this little pink haired chick to talk to him like that. _

"_State your business, Itachi-san, and state it quickly."_

_Just when Kisame thought that Itachi would suffocate the life out of her, he spoke. _

"_As I'm sure you are aware, we are members of the organization Akatsuki. My leader sent us to extend you the invitation." _

_Sakura tried to act surprised and not eager. Her eyes widening, she pretended to be shocked. _

"_You want me to join __**the**__ most infamous criminal organization?"_

"_Well, certainly not _me_ personally, Sakura-san. But my leader, yes."_

_Sakura did have time to be offended when six hunter-nins stepped onto branches surrounding them. _

_Itachi didn't move, or give any indication he knew they were there. _

_Even though this was all an act, some part of Sakura admired his confidence. _

"_Do I have to give my answer right now?"_

"…_Hn."_

"_I figured." Looking at the hunter-nins and sighing, Sakura drew out her gloves from her pack and slowly put them on. _

"_Well Itachi-san, then I guess I accept your leader's proposal."_

_Itachi nodded. _

"_Now are you and fish-face going to stand there and let me do all the work, or are you going to help me?"_

_Kisame looked at his partner for the answer, whose lips were slightly curled into a smirk. _

_Were they going to help her? _

"_We will watch."_

_Sakura rolled her eyes._

"_Yeah, I thought so…wouldn't want you to damage that _very masculine_ nail polish now would we?"_

_She jumped down and smashed the forest floor so hard, Itachi and Kisame had to jump in fear of the trees toppling over. _

_Kisame whistled. _

"_I like her already."_

"…_Hn."_

_End Flashback_

Her rash attitude and her sheer power demonstrated on that day was what allowed her to earn something that was not often doled out—Itachi's respect.

It was watching her fluid, almost graceful movements—the way she killed without hesitation, and that fierce look in her eye told him that she craved the adrenaline.

That was how she gained his interest.

Itachi sat at the kitchen table alone. Rubbing his eyes as though the soreness would miraculously disappear, he frowned in irritation. This whole Sakura situation was getting out of hand.

Should he get her to heal his eyes?

…But that would mean he _needed_ her in some capacity. If there was one thing that remained constant about Itachi over the years, it was that he never liked depending on other people.

But he _needed_ his sight…

Damn it.

He needed more time to mull things over.

"Itachi?" He heard a voice ask.

"Hn?"

"Erm…may I ask what you are doing in my doorway?"

At this, he looked up. How the hell did he get here? Was he blinder than he thought?

There she was, sitting on her bed, with the black sheets pulled around her. He could only see half her face, for the other half was in the shadows, but he did see that she was looking at him with a curious expression. Why did she have to look so beautiful in that moonlight?

"There is something I would like to discuss with you."

For some reason Sakura could not fathom, she _knew_ he was lying. He didn't twitch to signify discomfort, and his voice was even…but there was something about the momentary hesitation that told her he did not in fact have something he wanted to discuss.

"Okay, then. Discuss away." For now, she would humor him. She sat up and propped her pillows against the headboard.

"Would you like to sit?"

"Hn."

_Didn't think so_.

Itachi remained standing. Sakura's eyes roved over his body, thinking that maybe he needed to be healed in some way. Not seeing any sign of distress, her eyes traveled back to his—

Her stomach dropped.

She knew what this was about. He wanted her to heal his eyes.

Trying to ignore the pounding of her heart, she tried to find a way out of it. She could say no. She was a medic…why would she say no? Nope, that wouldn't fly. She could say it was beyond her skill level, but he knew that would be a lie.

_Well, I should have seen this one coming_.

If Tsunade ever found out…Sakura didn't want to think about it. But if she didn't do it, that would blow her cover, something Tsunade would also be furious about. Seeing no way out of the situation, she readied herself.

But Itachi remained silent. _Trying to think of how to approach the subject_, she supposed.

"I seem to have a problem that no ordinary medic can heal." He said, flatly.

Sakura wondered if that was an indirect compliment.

"Okay." She said, inwardly smirking that he was admitting he had a problem.

"You will heal it."

Sakura blinked, a spark of anger igniting Inner Sakura.

"Will I?" She challenged.

"…Yes." He said, and she wondered if he could see the anger swimming in her eyes.

…He could. He knew she would take offense, but he never asked anyone for anything…and he was not about to start now.

_Well, at least he's starting to trust me_.

"I'm sorry to say this, Itachi, but I do not take kindly to ill-mannered people." Inner Sakura rolled her eyes at her manner of speaking. She really wanted to throw in some colorful words, but she didn't think their relationship was at that level yet.

Speaking of levels, what was their status now that Itachi had briefly kissed her for the first time?

"You find me ill-mannered?" He crossed his arms and leaned across the doorframe.

His question, and the spark of curiosity in his voice caught Sakura off-guard for a moment.

"In this particular instance, yes." She said firmly.

She did not see him smirk in the darkness. To humor her, (and denying that on some level, he did not want her to think of him as rude) he tried to pose his 'question' another way.

"I would appreciate your assistance in this matter." He said, his voice losing some of its usually coldness.

Sakura held in a laugh, but she did roll her eyes. Apparently, getting Itachi to say please was a difficult task.

"I will see what I can do."

He nodded once…a 'thank you', she presumed.

She turned to lie back down in her bed.

"Please close the door on your way out." She said, her back towards him.

For some reason Itachi could not explain, there was a split second when a voice inside of his head told him to stay. He quickly dismissed the absurd idea of course, but he lingered longer than necessary staring at her back.

Sakura smiled when she heard the door click.

'_Give it time, Itachi…give it time_.'

XXXXX

"Give it time?" Sakura scoffed. "What the hell am I thinking?" She had gotten out of bed after Itachi left, and was now pacing in her room. Did she want this? If it worked out—chances were it wouldn't—it would be…complicated. Not to mention _wrong_. Sasuke would hate her (she had no idea why he wasn't pissed at the club. Why was he there anyway?). Kakashi, Tsunade, and Naruto wouldn't understand. She wasn't exactly sure if _she_ understood. Whenever she was around Itachi, words flew out of her mouth without much thought. She tried to ignore her feelings—knowing Itachi didn't feel the same, but when he kissed her, the hope that he was attracted to her spread through her body like wildfire.

_Don't you think you're moving too fast? This is Uchiha Itachi we're talking about. He doesn't care for anyone! He killed his own family for Goodness' sake. _

…and she should hate him for it. But Itachi was as quiet as he was mysterious. He killed his entire clan, but there was _something_—and it was something small—in his body language that signaled to Sakura that he felt…guilty about something. Was it about his clan? She did not know. It could have been a million different things, but whatever it was, Itachi was not as emotionless as he seemed to be.

_He was hiding something_. She was sure of it.

Sighing, Sakura decided to do something useful. Walking over to her dresser, she pulled out a small piece of paper and wrote,

_Just received intel on the 6__th__. Have not yet taken. Osaka St, Mist. No word yet on 9__th__. Will send word as it comes. My love_.

Sakura stared at the paper, realizing there was so much more to write. She had only been here four months and had already learned so much about these people.

How was she going to explain all of this when she got back?

Perhaps the more pressing issue was that after a while, she realized there was a part of her —a small part, but it was still there—that didn't _want_ to go back.

And that scared her more than her attraction to Itachi.

Sakura sighed. How did she get involved in this situation anyway? Damn Naruto for having the Kyuubi. Damn Akatsuki who wanted it!

Sighing once more, she walked over to the window to summon one of Katsuyu's children.

"You know what to do." Sakura said quietly. The slug nodded, and crawled out of the window, the piece of paper securely in it's mouth.

_Now, let's try to get some sleep…_

XXXXX

The morning sunlight crept through her window the next morning, and she was a bit surprised when she sensed Deidara at her door. Sitting up, she faced the open doorway.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of seeing your smirking face this early in the morning?"

Deidara snorted. "Good morning to you too. Itachi wanted me to tell you that you three are going on a mission this afternoon, yeah."

This caught Sakura's attention. "Oh? Did he say what kind of mission it was?"

Something dark flashed through Deidara's gaze, and Sakura thought it looked like anger.

"Nope, he refused to tell me. They're eating downstairs when you're ready, yeah."

And with that, he stalked off.

_What's wrong with him_? Sakura vaguely wondered.

Shrugging it off, she climbed out of bed, showered, and headed downstairs to see about the mission. Usually Pein didn't assign her missions, because she was needed as a medic. In fact, he told her something eerily similar to something Tsunade had said awhile back.

_You can't do much healing if you the one who's hit…_

She remembered how his voice carried through the darkness. When he wanted to be, Pein was a scary man. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she wandered down the dark hall to the kitchen on the right-hand side. Pushing open the door, she had to force down a smile at the scene in front of her. Kisame was reading a newspaper, and Itachi was pouring himself a glass of milk. A flash of what his early childhood would have been like flashed through her mind. Did he enjoy milk as a child? Did Sasuke? Mentally sighing at the fact that she would never learn such information, Kisame reeled her back in from her thoughts.

"Mornin' Sunshine." Kisame said gruffly. She rolled her eyes and nodded to Itachi.

"So," she said sitting down, "I heard I am going on a mission with you."

Too busy with her inner thoughts, she didn't notice the way Itachi stiffened slightly, or the almost worried look Kisame gave to his partner.

"Yeah, actually we have kind of an important mission today." Kisame said.

"Okay…what is it?" She asked, not really wanting to know the answer, but trying to sound enthusiastic.

"You have to assassinate the Mizukage." Itachi said flatly.

If Sakura had been drinking something, it would have flown right into Kisame's lap.

"What?" She said incredulously, "Why on earth do I have to do that?" She tried to ignore the way her heard rate sped up.

"To get the sixth Junchuuriki." Kisame said.

"So we have to kill their leader just to get the boy—er, six tails?" Sakura did not even try to hide her dismay. "Doesn't that seem a bit strange?"

Kisame decided to leave the real reason behind the Mizukage's assassination out of the conversation.

"Is there a problem?" Itachi asked coldly, a hint of mockery present in his smooth voice.

"Of course not," Sakura said defensively, "I just thought it was odd that we have to kill their leader in order to get a tailed demon."

"You will find, Sakura," Sasori said as he entered the kitchen, "that there are many things 'odd' with this world."

It was the second time that Sakura had really come to appreciate Sasori. He was brilliant, but there was something about him that was so…normal. He, perhaps almost as much as Itachi, showed her how Akatsuki were just…people. In Konoha, it was so drilled into her head that Akatsuki were cold-blooded murderers, but to tell the truth, it seemed only Itachi was the cold-blooded murderer. And Sakura still had her suspicions about his title anyway. Perhaps it was in the way he worded it, but that one sentence made him seem so…sane.

_I suppose he's right_…

"Can I ask you something, Sasori?" Sakura said as she reached for an orange.

"Certainly, Sakura." He said, pouring himself a glass of water.

She missed the way Itachi's eyes moved from her to glare at Sasori, who pretended not to notice.

"Is there anything you fear?" She didn't know where the question came from, exactly.

The room grew very quiet. Itachi's gaze was unreadable, and Kisame's mouth opened a bit, showing his shock at her question. Sasori's movements stilled in the middle of his pouring, but then took a seat to the left of Sakura.

"There is something we all fear, Sakura." He said, looking at her pointedly. She nodded. Briefly, she wondered what Itachi feared.

"Yes, but what makes your fear different from mine?" She pressed, desperately trying to find human qualities in the members. Why? She didn't really know.

"There are different types of fear." He took a sip of water. "I mean to say, there are different levels of fear."

She waited patiently for him to continue.

"Everyone, on some level, fears death. There are some who know it will come, and will embrace it, but that does not mean that there aren't things they wish to continue. No one is ever 'finished' with life."

Sakura's eyes flicked to Itachi, and back to Sasori.

"I, for instance, fear death. I am not afraid to die, per se, but I am afraid that I will not accomplish all that I wish to, before the end."

"There are many people like that." She agreed.

He nodded once. "Yes there are. I am also afraid of being controlled."

If Sakura weren't a ninja, she would have missed the way Kisame stiffened slightly in his chair, and she would have missed Itachi's gaze lower to the table for a moment, almost as though both of them were uncomfortable about something.

"Really?" She asked incredulously.

He smiled a bit. "Yes, I know that it wouldn't seem that way because I am mostly a puppet. But I did that so I would never be controlled by anyone. In other words, I have complete power over myself." Sakura wondered how then, he could work for this organization.

"Thank you for being honest."

He nodded once.

Peeling an orange as well, he asked,

"Is there anything you fear, Sakura?"

It took extreme control to keep her face straight. There were many things she feared—too many things.

"Not being good enough." She said quietly, folding her hands on the wooden table.

Sasori seemed surprised by her answer. "For who?" He questioned.

She looked at him, then to Kisame, and rested on Itachi.

"…For myself."

Sasori chuckled a bit.

"That's the best kind of fear to have." Kisame spoke for the first time. Sasori nodded.

She snapped her attention to him.

"Oh? Why's that?"

He gave her a toothy grin.

"Because that means that you are intelligent enough to understand that ultimately, you answer to yourself." Sakura was surprised that Itachi answered.

"There's nothing like letting yourself down." Kisame said, picking up his glass.

"As they both said, that is a good quality to have, self-respect." Sasori said.

Sakura was stunned by their responses. To be honest, she never thought any of the members would be so…open about certain things. But then again, maybe they didn't talk to each other often, so they jumped when presented the opportunity for intelligent conversation.

"We should get going, Itachi." He said, nodding to Sakura, "I'll put a water repelling jutsu on you when we get outside…"

Itachi nodded at Kisame's statement. The three of them stood up and walked out of the kitchen, Sasori watching Sakura's back.

…

He raised the glass of water to his smirking lips, "…A good quality indeed."

XXXXX

The trio was flying East through the forest at high speeds, the trees a blur around them. Sakura was out in front, Kisame in the middle, and Itachi was last keeping at lookout for followers. Itachi tensed for a moment when his partner appeared at his side.

"Should we tell her?" Kisame asked, as though he felt bad for lying to the ex-leaf-nin.

"Will that in any way help the situation?" Itachi asked, but Kisame did not miss the hesitation in his partner's voice.

No, he didn't suppose it would.

"You're right." The mist-nin agreed. But still, he did not get back into formation.

"Is there something else?" He did not miss the irritation present in Itachi's voice.

"What do you think of this whole situation?"

Itachi looked at him. "I think things are starting to get out of hand." He said truthfully.

They looked at each other for a few moments, a message passing through them silently.

Kisame nodded and sped ahead, back into formation among the trees.

…

"_I just hope we're wrong…"_

XXXXX

They arrived in Mist just after dusk. Standing in the trees above, the trio looked west, and saw a high red tower in the distance.

"That tower at two o'clock is the Mizukage Tower. You will find him in there. Kill him while we look for the six tails. Meet us back here."

Itachi could tell Sakura was a bit nervous, and Kisame was avoiding her gaze like the plague.

"Okay. Got it." The pair watched as Sakura ran off, her shoulders a bit rigid with tension.

"Let's go."

_Good luck_.

XXXXX

The streets in the town were completely deserted. Kisame knew the village's weaknesses, so there was no problem entering the village, but this curfew was something new. Perhaps Mist was experiencing some problems Akatsuki was not aware of?

Strolling through the streets, it was not hard to find Osaka Street, as it was right off the main road. There were a couple houses with lights still on, but the pair could tell where the Jinchuuriki was due to his large chakra stores.

"That one." Kisame said, pointing to a small wooden shed at the end of the street.

Itachi nodded.

"Do you want me to get the boy and you take care of the family?"

"Hn."

Kisame walked up the side of the house to enter through an open window on the second floor.

Itachi walked to the side window, to see if there was anyone still awake.

"Please stop!"

Itachi heard the muffled yells of a young boy through the walls.

"Daddy! Please stop!" Listening more closely, Itachi heard the muffled cries and screams floating through the open window.

_Sasuke_…

Stopping in front of the side window, Itachi watched as the father of the young blonde boy whipped his young son continually. His eyes widened. Something in Itachi snapped, as rage flowed through his veins. It was like watching his own father hurt he and Sasuke continually without remorse. Blinded by anger, Itachi jumped in through the window and grabbed the man's throat. The man's eyes widened considerably. Slowly choking the life out of the man, he managed to stutter out a few words.

"Who are you?"

Itachi didn't answer. Instead, the man looked into Itachi's Mangekyou.

"You…don't under—understand."

"Oh?" Itachi said coldly.

"He's…too…_different_." The man's face turned an unsightly purple as he tried to make his soon-to-be murderer understand.

Itachi leaned forward. "…So was I." He whispered, and snapped the man's neck.

Watching the man's corpse slump to the ground, Itachi turned his eyes to Kisame who was standing with his eyes fixed on the shaking, bleeding boy. His eyes uncharacteristically soft, Kisame stepped forward to end the boy's suffering.

"Wait." The stern voice of Itachi was heard and Kisame's movements ceased.

Itachi stepped up and knelt down to the young boy. His piercing blue eyes snapped onto Itachi's face. He coughed blood, and Itachi watched as tears leaked out his eyes from the pain of his beating. The boy was shaking, and was turning an awful shade of ghostly white from blood loss.

"Please." The little boy whispered as more tears fell down the side of his face. "Please don't hate me. I just want one person—just one who acknowledges me."

The boy's eyes shifted to the ceiling.

"…I never asked for this to happen." He whispered.

"I do not hate you." Itachi said. The lack of emotion startled the boy, as if he thought Itachi was trying to hide something from his voice.

"Thank you, sir." The boy looked oddly disfigured as he tried to smile, as his teeth and lips were covered in blood.

"Look at me." Itachi said, softer this time. The little boy's eyes only had time to widen in fear for a moment when he was caught in Itachi's Mangekyou. After about three seconds, he stood, a little shakily Kisame noted.

"Did you end it?" Kisame asked, quieter than usual, still standing in the corner of the dark room.

"I ended his life," Itachi said, just as quietly, "…but there was nothing I could do to end his suffering."

Itachi was too busy staring at the boy to see Kisame nod solemnly.

"So what are we going to do about—" Just then, Sakura came bursting through the door, out of breath.

"Itachi! Kisame! I have been looking for you everywhere. We have to leave _**now**_—"

She stopped abruptly when her eyes traveled to what Itachi and Kisame were staring at. On the floor, a young boy of maybe eight or nine lay broken and bloody on the floor.

"My God! What happened?" Switching into medic mode, Sakura all but ran to the boy crumpled on the floor.

"He's gone," Kisame said, losing a bit of his usual gruffness.

She turned his over and saw lash marks all over his skin.

"Oh my goodness," she exclaimed. "Who did this to him?"

Neither of her partners answered. She looked to the far wall and saw a man's corpse. Realization dawned on her when she saw the hand marks around the man's neck. Looking back to the boy, and turned him over in order to heal his mangled back.

"Did he suffer?" Sakura asked morosely, stroking the blonde boy's blood matted hair.

"…No," Itachi lied smoothly. He chose to ignore the way Kisame's head snapped in his direction. He didn't want to make it harder for her than it already was.

_Why?_ A voice in his head asked.

"Good," she whispered. She bent down and whispered in the boy's ear, "that makes one of you."

Itachi pretended not to hear.

"The demon is gone," she said, a bit panicked.

"…Yes." Was all Itachi said, his eyes still fixed on the boy. He apparently, was not nervous about Pein's reaction. It wasn't their fault, but Sakura still felt like Pein would think they were somehow responsible. If Sakura didn't know any better, she would say that Itachi seemed a bit relieved that the demon was gone.

"Well, let's go." Sakura nodded at Kisame's proposal. She and Kisame exited the building, leaving Itachi in the room alone with the boy.

Kneeling down once more, Itachi reached and physically closed the boy's eyelids.

…

_I never wanted this to happen, either_.

…

"…I'm sorry, too."

**OOOOOO**

**Now the six tails is gone! How is Pein going to react? What were Itachi and Kisame talking about? What happened with Sakura and the Mizukage? What is going on?!**

**You'll see!**

**Anyway, do you guys actually listen to the songs I recommend? Just curious.**

**If you like this fic, I would appreciate your feedback.**

**Until next time.**

**P.S. That was the longest chapter ever!**

**July 1st, 2008: This is a revised chapter. A few things bothered me. Next chapter should be out by tomorrow or Thursday hopefully. If not, it won't be till next week because I'm going on vacation. It will be an extra long chapter!**


	7. Chapter 7

**PLEASE NOTE: I revised last chapter…pretty severely. So I would recommend you (re)read last chapter at some point. **

**Thanks for the feedback!**

**I don't own Naruto.**

**This chapter contains important hints as to what will happen in the next story.**

**Enjoy.**

OOOOO

Itachi lie awake that night thinking about all that happened that day. It was unusual for him to have so many thoughts, but there were many things that had happened that were hard to accept. For one, Pein had Sakura assassinate the Mizukage because he suspected she was a Konoha spy. Pein had every right to be suspicious—she was too loyal. Something had to have happened that sent her over the edge—she wasn't the type to just kill off her entire team. Perhaps one day he would pry the information out of her. It wasn't in his nature to be curious, but this instance was an exception.

"_Itachi!" He heard his mother call him from the next room. He rose from his chair in the living room to see what his mother wanted from the kitchen. He entered and saw his one- year old brother sitting on the ground, clapping his hands together and smearing tomato sauce all over his face. _

"_Would you like me clean him off?" Itachi asked, not raising his voice to indicate a question. _

_Mikoto, however, was laughing at her youngest son's behavior. _

"_Not yet, Itachi." She was cooking dinner and keeping an eye on Sasuke at the same time. She looked up from the stove to see Itachi's expressionless gaze watching his younger brother enjoy himself. Mikoto's eyes softened when she realized that Itachi was trying to act like he didn't approve of Sasuke's current actions._

"_It's alright, Itachi-chan." She bent over and put her hand on her six year old's shoulder. _

"_I don't understand what you mean, mother." He said flatly, and Mikoto's heart broke a little when she heard that response. _

"_I mean it's alright to laugh." She whispered, her eyes soft. _

_Itachi looked at his mother with surprised eyes._

"_Laugh at what?" He asked. She continued to look at him, and he wasn't sure what she was expecting him to do. _

"_When your father's not here, it's alright to laugh." She said quietly. _

_He chose not to respond. _

_She sighed. "One day you are going to meet someone who will be able to see past your exterior. They will know what you are really feeling on the inside, no matter how hard you try to hide it."_

_The first thought in Itachi's mind was _'that would be problematic_.'_

"_Will they be an enemy?"_

_Mikoto's brow furrowed as she silently cursed the clan for making her oldest child like this. Was it a crime to have a childhood?_

"_No, sweetie. They will be the farthest thing from an enemy you will ever encounter. And never, ever let them go." She finished in a whisper. She went back to cooking dinner with Sasuke's giggling in the background._

Itachi's eyes opened.

…

_Maybe she was right_.

XXXXX

_She raced through the gates, the adrenaline making her almost numb_. _Her legs carried her through the halls just as Itachi showed her on the map. She almost felt bad for the Mizukage. It was strange to think that she was going to kill an unsuspecting person—and for what? Because Pein said so? Then again, it was the same in Konoha. You killed because Tsunade said so; you never asked any questions. _

_There! At the end of the hallway, the room on the left was the Mizukage's. She wondered whether he had bodyguards. _He should_, she thought. _

_But he didn't._

_Stepping silently into the room, she saw the vacant bed._

_Shit! She couldn't sense his chakra signature anywhere. _

_She quickly stepped into the shadows, waiting to see if he was coming back to sleep. She knew he probably sensed her already_. Damn it!_ She thought, this was going to be one of those missions where everything that possibly can go wrong...does_.

_She heard high-pitched, cold laughter coming from somewhere by the doorframe._

"_Well. This is…surprising." He said, his voice flat, but accepting. He leaned against the doorframe, his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose, as though Sakura were a mere headache. _

_No one spoke or moved for a long while. _

"_Do not be foolish enough to think that he sees you as more than a tool."_

_Is he talking about Pein? Or Itachi?_

_Sakura swallowed. _

_He couldn't possibly know about Itachi. _

"_Once he is finished with you, you will be terminated."_

Why is he warning me?

_He stepped into the room, his shoulders slightly tensed, as if he knew why she was there—but then again, he probably did. But there was an air around him that was calm—he had accepted his fate. One some level, Sakura admired his bravery. _

_In the back of her mind, she remembered Sasori's words, "…no one is ever 'finished' with life…"_

_What had happened to him that he accepted his death so calmly? _

"_It is not your leader of whom I speak."_

_She looked at him, her eyes wide, and her throat dry._

_He sighed, shook his head, and made his way to the chair beside the bed. Head in his hands, he seemed to be thinking. _

"_This was not how I imagined things would happen." He said, wearily. _

_Sakura still said nothing._

"_He told me I would rewarded for my allegiance to him." The man laughed again. "This is not the type of reward I had imagined." _

_Anger and pity surged through her veins. How could __**he**__ use people's lives as if they were rag dolls?_

I hate Pein.

"_Be careful, girl. There is another…from whom you leader takes orders."_

_This caught Sakura's attention. For the first time, she spoke. "What? What are you talking about?"_

_He stood and walked to where she was standing beside the window. _

…

"…_This is more complicated than you can possibly imagine."_

_She watched his breath fog the window. _

_He turned to look her in the eye. _

"_Nothing is ever what it seems."_

_And with that final line, he stabbed himself in the chest, leaving a horrified Sakura frozen solid, watching, as his lifeless body crumpled to the floor. _

"_Nothing is ever what it seems."_

Sakura's eyes opened.

…

_Maybe he was right._

XXXXX

"Come in."

"Sakura, Pein is calling us." Itachi stood in her doorway, looking as gorgeous as ever.

Sakura shot out of bed. Pein was going to be _furious_ that the six tails is gone.

She walked out of her room—after just changing into pajamas—to see Itachi standing in the dark hallway. She turned right to walk to Pein's room, but a hand enclosed around her wrist.

"Itachi, what are you—"

He pulled her closer to him, and for a long while, he just stared at her. It looked as though he was debating something, but thought better of it. Then, he took off down the hallway, but his steps were slow—he wanted her to catch up.

They arrived at Pein's door, and Sakura's heart was pounding so hard, she almost couldn't hear. If anything happened in there, not only would she run the risk of getting killed, she'd fail her mission. Tsunade would bring her back from the dead to kill her all over again.

Itachi paused as well. Whether he was nervous or not, she did not know.

"The responsibility of the six tails did not belong to us." He said coldly, and for a second, Sakura thought he was mad at her.

…okay? What the hell was that supposed to mean? Was that some sort of comfort? 'Oh, we failed a mission that was not ours'?

But he had taken the initiative to say something. Coming from Itachi, she guessed that _was_ supposed to be comforting.

XXXXX

"Hello Itachi, Sakura." Pein nodded in acknowledgement not moving from behind his desk. They bowed in respect.

"I understand the six tails is lost." His tone was cold, fury lying right beneath the surface. His hands were clasped together in front of his chest. Though his face was half hidden in shadow, Sakura could see his piercings softly glinting.

"Yes." Itachi said simply, the politeness in his tone long gone. What was going on?

"How…exactly did that happen?" The anger was there now.

"The Junchuuriki died." Itachi said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Sakura almost sniggered at the mockery in his tone.

"Keep you temper in check Itachi, we wouldn't want a repeat of our last meeting." Pein had a sick smile on his lips and sat up a bit straighter in his chair.

_Last time? What last time?_

Itachi chose to ignore Pein's warning. "…I did not get there in time."

Sakura had to fight every muscle in her body not to snap her head in Itachi's direction. He was taking the blame?

"I see." Pein said, leaning back, his face hidden in the shadows once more.

"Well then Itachi, what do you suppose we do, now that we will never get them all?"

Sakura wondered if that was a rhetorical question. She assumed it was.

"It would mean that one of the members does not get a demon."

"And do you have any suggestions?"

Itachi was silent for a few moments, and Sakura knew that he already had someone in mind, but he was hesitant to say it.

"Sakura." He said firmly.

The silence was deafening.

"Are you saying that Sakura should not become a Jinchuuriki?" There was amusement in Pein's voice, and Sakura wondered if there was something she was missing. What was so funny? She was never going to become a Jinchuuriki anyway. _Well_, she thought_, I guess they don't know that…_

"Yes, that is what I said." Itachi said coldly. Sakura almost flinched at the anger in his tone.

"I see. I thought for a moment you were willingly going to give up the nine-tails."

Itachi did not answer.

"But the girl? I did not expect that." Sakura now _knew_ she missed something. Did Pein think Itachi was trying to protect her in someway? Itachi probably thought she didn't deserve it.

There was a silence before,

"Very well. You are dismissed."

Itachi and Sakura walked out of the office, unaware of the smirk on Pein's face.

_Well, well, well, what an interesting development— _

…

—_in more ways than one._

XXXXX

When Itachi and Sakura walked out of the door, Sakura looked at Itachi and was about to ask him what the hell was going on. She was quite offended, to be honest.

But when he looked at her, she saw something pass through his eyes that made her forget how to breathe.

_Relief. _

She stopped walking and he turned to watch her.

She put her hands on his muscular shoulders and raised herself up to kiss him on the cheek. "Thank you." She whispered against his skin, dangerously close to his lips.

She didn't what she was thanking him for. Taking the blame, standing up for her…everything.

Because he _was_ trying to protect her.

He nodded so slightly she almost missed it, his gorgeous red eyes never leaving hers. She removed one hand from his shoulder and traced his necklace lightly.

_I want some sort of connection_.

She hoped he could see her desire in her eyes. But she could see the hesitation in his. She knew this was new to him. He had spent his entire life trying to fight weakness and get stronger, and they both knew what would happen if this continued. Seeing the question in his eyes, she answered it before walking down the hallway.

…

"…The only thing left to wait for is you."

XXXXX

"…_The only thing left to wait for is you."_

What did that mean?

_Thump_.

Did that mean she had accepted this…this unexpected attraction?

_Thump_.

He knew what it meant: she was ready; he was not.

_Crack_.

He simply could not. He admitted that she was…interesting. He liked to observe her emotions. He had always been taught that emotions inhibit growth, but with her, it seemed to be the opposite. She was like a piece of art he could not understand.

_Crack_.

When she would enter the room, the reason why his eyes were drawn to her was because of his fascination. And when she would laugh—he would say that reason why he suddenly felt…_better_ (not _happy_) was because it had simply been so long since he had heard laughter. And when she practically gave Deidara a lap dance in front of everyone—the reason why he was so angry was because he simply disliked Deidara. His reaction had nothing to do with her.

_Thud. _

But everything changed the night of her mission.

Not hearing the expected thud, Itachi looked up, stunned. His shuriken had missed the target. He had never missed the tree before. Sometimes, when his eyesight was bothering him, he would miss the bull's eye…but he never before missed the entire tree.

Itachi mentally sighed.

He remembered the feeling of fury when they were in Pein's office and he gave Sakura that mission. He wanted to rip Pein's voice box out—he almost did.

_Thud_.

He remembered watching her dance with that guy…and he could not deny that uncomfortable feeling. He did not like the way men around her watched her every move. And when she needed to have a private session with whoever that guy was, he didn't want to leave her side. So when they were standing in the hallway, and she was about to leave, he kissed her.

_That was foolish._

_Crack._

He couldn't remember the last time he had kissed someone before—he never let women get in the way of his missions. But he actually kissed her! And even now he could not deny that her lips were soft and warm. He couldn't explain the feeling, but it was almost as though he wanted to prove himself to her so she wouldn't forget him while she was in that private room.

_Thud._

_If anyone finds out about this…they will use her against me. I cannot allow her to hold me back. _

_Hold you back from what?_ The question suddenly passed through his mind.

…

_What do you __**want**__?_

For the first time in his life, the answer didn't immediately pop into his mind.

XXXXX

After dinner, Sakura paced in her room, waiting anxiously for the time when she would begin healing Itachi's eyes.

_Tsunade is going to kill me. _

_But then again, she would kill me either way_.

What was she going to say when she got back to Konoha? _Oh hello Tsunade-sama! Guess what? I healed Uchiha Itachi's eyes, so now he's even more dangerous than before…Bye!_

She continued pacing, ignoring the protests of her feet on the cold floor.

_That's not the only reason Tsunade is going to kill me… How the hell am I going to explain that I am attracted to Itachi? She'd probably throw her desk at me._

Sakura chuckled at the mental image of wooden desk falling to the streets below.

_And Naruto…and Kakashi…Oh my God, what would Ino say? She'd freak!_

Sighing in defeat, she plopped onto her bed.

Running her hands through her hair, she tried to decide,

_What do I __**want**__?_

XXXXX

To say she was nervous would be an understatement.

First off, she was about to commit high treason against her village by healing an enemy. Second, she was about to heal the eyes of a dangerous criminal. This was no simple procedure. Itachi's eyes were his lifeline, and if something went wrong, he would kill her without a moment's hesitation. Kiss or no kiss, Sakura knew he valued his eyes more than her life. Third, and perhaps the most problematic, she was going to be alone in a room with a person she was insanely attracted to.

She lifted her arm to knock on his door.

"You may enter." It never ceased to amaze her how sexy his voice was. She could hear the velvety texture through the closed door. She shook her head. _Unbelievable._

Taking a deep breath, she pushed the door open. She entered and let her gaze travel up Itachi's body as he lay in the bed, back against the headboard, a mesh shirt and black pants. He took off his hitai-ate, and Sakura was—shocked—at how much _younger_ he looked. His eyes were closed, and his hands were clasped together and resting on his stomach.

"Good evening, Itachi." She tried to sound as professional as was possible.

"Hn." He did not move.

On the nightstand to the right of his bed was his hitai-ate. She ran her finger across the scratch. She had been so adamant about not scratching out hers, Tsunade had to give her another one just for this mission.

It meant that much to her.

"Did you scratch this yourself?" She asked, genuinely curious.

He opened one eye and turned to her for a moment, before resuming his previous position.

"No." He did not elaborate. _Maybe it meant something to him once, too…_

"Okay then, let's get started." He could hear the nervousness in her voice.

Hesitantly, Sakura sat on the edge of the bed. Itachi did not move, but his eyes opened.

"Okay, I am going to need to probe around your eye's a bit in order to see what is causing the damage."

"…"

"I know this is going to make you uncomfortable to have someone who is not an Uchiha study your Sharingan, but obviously, I can't avoid it."

Inner Sakura snorted. Did she think he was going to admit something made him uncomfortable?

"Let's proceed." He said flatly.

She took that to mean that he trusted her.

"Alright." She moved a bit closer to him, gently raised her hands and placed one on each side of his temple.

She pushed her chakra into his eyes.

"Please turn your Sharingan off." She said, trying to keep her voice as professional as possible. After a few seconds of hesitation on his part, she watched in her mind's eye as the chakra to his eyes gently withdrew. She couldn't imagine what it felt like, but she imagined that it felt like the soothing of a wound.

Delving a bit deeper, she could clearly feel—see—his chakra pathways, which were severely damaged.

"Ah, I think I found the root of the problem. Please activate your Sharingan, Itachi."

Still with her eyes closed, she watched as the chakra came rushing to his eyes.

_Amazing_.

She had to keep herself from sighing in fascination. But Itachi could clearly see the excitement written on her face.

"Alright, now Itachi I am going to delve a bit deeper to make sure the cells of the pathways aren't damaged. If they are, then the process will take longer."

"Aa."

"Please tell my if you feel any discomfort." _Not that you'll ever admit it…but I thought I'd try._

Pushing her chakra a bit further, she noticed that there was a slight tint of _blackness _to his blue chakra.

"_Itachi, please." _

She heard a man's voice loud and clear as though Itachi had said it himself.

She blinked. _What the hell was that?_

Trying to concentrate on the decay of the cellular tissue, Sakura closed her eyes again and pushed her chakra past his immediate eye region, following the chakra's path to his brain. She figured he would be able to feel it, so it wasn't long before—

"Sakura." He said in a warning tone.

"There's something wrong with—please bare with me for a second."

"What's wrong?" He asked, seemingly annoyed by the entire situation.

"Your chakra is—black. I think cells are decaying around your eyes."

She could have sworn she felt him stiffen for a moment, but it was gone a second later.

"I need to see where it's coming from."

"Hn."

Taking that as acquiescence, she pushed her chakra into the passageways of his brain.

'_It seems like it's coming from somewhere in his—_'

…

"_Itachi, please." I heard the urgent, almost frantic whisper of my father. _

_I just stood there, as though wanting to hear his last wish. _

"_Don't kill him, please."_

_I wouldn't give him the courtesy of an answer. _

_I looked down at my father's bloody corpse, ignoring the twinge on guilt I felt in my stomach. For a moment, I thought I was going to be sick. _

"_He's just a boy…please don't." My father whispered from the bloody wooden floor. _

…

"_Please don't kill Sasuke." _

_And that was the last thing my father said to me. For a fleeting moment, I wanted to kneel down and tell him that I was sorry that things turned out this way. But I knew that I really __**wasn't**__ sorry. Someone had to stop him. That son of a bitch was going to— _

"What did you find?"

Sakura's eyes snapped open like she had just been caught doing something awful. She had been so absorbed in listening, that she forgot she was supposed to be healing.

Sakura just stared at Itachi wide-eyed. Her mind revolving around what she had just heard, she couldn't think clearly.

"Erm…what?" She said eloquently in a high-pitched voice.

"You seemed shocked by something." He said smoothly.

"Ah—yes…well I was just surprised by the amount of damage sustained by your pathways. That's all."

His raised brow told her he didn't believe a word she was saying.

"Aa."

She stared at his necklace, not daring to look him in the eye. When the silence became unbearable, she decided to try again.

"Shall we continue?"

He nodded slightly.

Taking a deep inhalation, she raised her slightly shaking hands to his temples again.

_Go further! _Her conscience egged her on.

_This is an invasion of his privacy! _She answered.

_But he won't tell us! This is the only way to find out. _

Unconsciously, Sakura had been pushing her chakra—a bit stealthier this time—into the chakra pathways of his brain.

"_Fugaku! Are you listening to what you're saying? He's your child! He's __**our**__ child!"_

"_Mikoto, you knew this would happen long ago." I heard the steady, deep voice of my father. _

"_He's four years old! He should have a normal childhood before he is sent to kill for—!" My mother was screaming at my father, but this was not unusual. I was the one who they always fought about. _

"_Mikoto, we both know that our child is not normal. He is special. The future of our clan." My father said proudly. _

_At that moment, I felt a surge of hate rush through me. Part of me was glad that my father saw me as the future of our clan…but there was a part that hated him for what he wanted me to do. I felt something I thought was gratitude towards my mother. _

_If only she was strong enough to stop him—but I knew she wasn't. _

"_He will not be sent to the academy at four. That's final."_

_My father sighed. "Can we agree on five?" _

"_Six."_

"_Very well, but that doesn't mean I can't start training him." He said tersely. _

"_Fine." She snapped, and returned to cooking the meat I smelled from the hallway. _

…

_If only my mother knew what that meant. _

Sakura's eyes snapped open, and she was breathing heavily. He was watching her calmly. She knew that she was on the verge of tears, but if he knew what she just heard, he would be _livid_. She just caught glimpses of the scenes—like she watching an old movie and some of the tape reel was missing. But she could hear everything clearly.

He continued to watch her silently.

"Well," she said, her voice shaky as she rose from the bed, "I think that's about all I can do for tonight. Shall we continue tomorrow?"

Itachi could tell that she was eager to run from his room—but he didn't know why. Was something seriously wrong with him? There was obviously something she wasn't telling him, but he would let it go for now.

"Of course."

And as he expected, she all but ran for the door, his dark eyes following her.

OOOOO

**Hm…some insight into Itachi's past. No one picked up on my foreshadowing in the last chapter! Sigh…**

**An interesting conversation with the Mizukage. I wonder what that was about?**

**Does anyone find it funny to read/write things like "inwardly smirked" or "mentally sighed"? I laugh a bit whenever I write it lol. **

**PS. I am leaving for vacation tomorrow, so the next chapter will take a while. Who's ready for Itachi to finally make a move? We'll see…**

**Reviews are appreciated.**

**Until next time.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed! I smile every time I read them.**

**I don't own Naruto.**

**This was the hardest chapter I've ever written. I had such a hard time…not really sure why. I hated it for like a week. I must have rewritten parts of this at least ten times. Then, an idea struck and now I really like it! I hope you do to. Enjoy.**

**XXXXX **

_Three months prior_

_It should have been a simple mission. _

_The idea was simple enough—go to the Rock village, and see how much progress the __Tsuchikage__ was making in building an army. Sakura felt like ice had dropped in her stomach when she learned one of Konoha's enemies was building up forces—_

"_Sakura-san." Itachi's (great) voice stirred her from her thoughts. _

"_Yes, Itachi-san?" She asked, hoping he didn't hear her hesitation. _

"_Do you think there is anything…wrong with your current appearance?" He asked in a mocking tone._

_She looked down. She was in her usual ninja get-up, her Akatsuki cloak in place. _

"_Um…no?" She said self-consciously. _

"_Hn." He sighed, gesturing to himself, who had no cloak on. "They know we are Akatsuki, but try not to broadcast it." He was irritated, she noted. _

"_Oh, of course." She smiled slightly, trying to hide her embarrassment. Making a few hand signals, she performed a genjutsu __on herself. Her cloak was gone, replaced with a tight long sleeve black shirt and black pants. She wore her usual ninja sandals. Her eyes were the same bright green, but her hair was black as night, and long enough to reach her lower back. _

"_Is something wrong, Itachi…san?" Damn it, she always had to remind herself to add the honorific. He always heard her hesitation...and he always smirked that 'yes-I-know-I'm-sexy' smirk. Which irritated her to no end. _

_But this time, he wasn't smirking. In fact, he was staring at her, a peculiar expression on his face. She was so astonished that his face was showing emotion, that she stared back, unwilling to admit to herself that she was attracted to him. _

_He looked…curious for a moment, then switched to perhaps, thoughtful? Sakura did not know, and she dare not ask, doubting he would answer anyway. _

_Was he so shocked at how she looked with normal color hair?_

"_Let's go." _

_She'd never know._

XXXXX

_She followed him through the trees at an alarming rate. His stamina—it seemed—was almost as endless as Naruto's. They were nearing the village—and Sakura was starting to get nervous. This was her first actual mission for Akatsuki. The previous ones had been small things—mainly just healing. _

"_Stay here." _

_Stay here?_

"_What?" Her brows furrowed, her hands on her hips. _

_He looked at her as though she were an annoying bug he wished would die. _

"_Stay here." He enunciated the words as though she were mentally handicapped. _

"_But—" she blurted, "why? This was my mission too." He seemed to regard her for a moment before audibly sighing and looking at the gate. _

"_No. Your mission is to heal me should something happen. You are merely coming along to serve your purpose as a medic-nin." He acted as though this were the most boring thing in his life. But he switched his gaze back to her, and when she looked him in the eye she thought she thought amusement. Was he trying to rile her up?_

"_Serve my purpose as a medic-nin?" She asked, offended. "What the hell is that supposed to mean? Do you think that I cannot fight…or act, in this case?" She added as an afterthought. _

_He smirked as though he were enjoying some sort of inside joke that she was not privy to. _

"_No, Sakura-san, I believe your acting skills are excellent." _

_And then he was gone._

XXXXX

_She wouldn't have a chance to ask him what exactly that meant, because when he came back four hours later, he was limping and was ghostly pale. _

"_Itachi! What—?" He stumbled, catching her shoulder at the precise moment of his fall. They stood there for a few long moments just staring at each other. He was bent over, his right hand on her shoulder, his red gaze holding hers just mere inches from her face. _

"_Is there a reason," he said smoothly, "why you are not healing me?"_

_Her eyes widened. "Oh!" She raised her hands to his abdomen, sending chakra into his system to assess the damage. She was concentrating so hard that she didn't hear the sigh of relief escape his lips (much to his chagrin). _

"_Itachi-san," there was the honorific again, "this would be easier if you would lie back."_

"…_Hn." As gracefully as possible when injured, he dropped to his knees and slowly lied back onto the hard ground. _

_His eyes never left her face as she worked on the enormous gash in his left thigh. How he got it, she did not ask. It seemed impossible that he would be hurt in a village that was expecting him. It was wrong to assume, but perhaps it was some type of warning for Pein? Why Pein needed a 'warning', she did not know. Why Itachi took this 'warning', she did not know. Would she have gotten the same injury?_

_A few minutes after pouring her chakra into his system, there wasn't even a scar left. She sat back to admire her work, smiling slightly. _

_Not wanting to waste one more second looking weak, he immediately stood and jumped into the nearest tree. He hesitated for a moment, waiting, obviously, for her to catch up. They took off into the trees, his eyes never looking toward her again. It wasn't until a long while later that she heard him say faintly,_

"_Thank you…Sakura."_

_For some reason she could not explain, she could not wipe the smile from her face when she realized what that meant for him._

_He acknowledged her skills as a medic-nin. _

…

_He acknowledged **her**._

_Present_

The tension between Sakura and Itachi the next day at dinner could have been cut with a knife. Sakura jumped whenever asked a question, and Itachi noted that all her smiles were faked. "_The only thing left to wait for is you_" kept replaying in his mind over and over as he struggled to make a decision.

When Sakura abruptly left his room last night, it would have been foolish not to admit that he was shocked.

Was there something serious wrong with him?

"Itachi-san." Sasori's voice brought him from his thoughts.

"Hm?"

"Pein-sama wants to speak with you."

"Hn." He rose from the table and left the room, aware of Sakura's eyes on him.

He would ask her later tonight.

XXXXX

Itachi's hawk-like gaze was doing nothing to settle her anxiety. She didn't really know why she felt so paranoid, but ironically, she was a rather bad liar—a large problem in the shinobi world. She felt guilty, she supposed, that she had invaded his privacy, but was excited to do it again. To add to her nervousness, he never brought up her 'proposal', so she was left to believe that he either thought she was crazy…or he thought she was crazy. Either seemed believable.

She sighed.

_I need a drink._

XXXXX

There were many things in which Sakura was in control.

Sake was not one of them.

She made a mental note of the fact that drinking heavily with fellow shinobi—not to mention Akatsuki members—was doing nothing for her sake…dependence.

"Let's play a game, yeah!" Deidara called from the other side of the table. Sakura giggled when she realized just how much he sounded—and looked—like a girl.

"You want to play a game?" Sakura said. "How manly!"

Kisame snorted in his drink and Tobi clapped his hands together.

"Tobi loves games, Deidara-senpai!" Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Thank you Tobi, yeah," Deidara said, happy that someone was standing up for him. "We'll each take turns asking each other questions, and you have to answer each question truthfully. You cannot pass a question and there are no limits as to the subject matter, yeah."

"Okay," Sakura said brightly, "You go first."

Deidara put his finger on his chin and thought for a moment.

"Okay, yeah," Sakura didn't like the mischievous look in his eye. "Are you a virgin, Sakura?"

Sakura choked on her drink, her eyes wide.

"What kind of a question is that?" She asked incredulously. Kisame was staring at her, clearly interested in her answer.

"Of course she is," Kisame slurred, "Look at her." He took another sip of his drink.

"Excuse me?" Sakura said indignantly. "Are you calling me ugly?"

"Nope. Just saying you're too innocent." He shrugged.

"I'll have you know," she raised her head proudly, "that I am not a virgin, thank you very much."

"What's a virgin?" Tobi asked, but was ignored.

Kisame laughed. "Didn't think you had it in you."

Deidara looked like he had been hit by a truck, but the quickly regained his composure.

"So, who was the guy, yeah?"

"You have to wait your turn to ask me another question…my turn!" She said brightly.

She seemed to be thinking for a moment, but then her expression turned to one of horror.

"Oh my God!" She yelled suddenly.

"What's the matter, Sakura-san?" Tobi asked.

She burst into laughter. "Itachi is going to _kill me_!"

Deidara and Kisame laughed. "Why's that?" Kisame asked.

Sakura giggled. "Because I _totally_ fuck—"

_SLAM!_

XXXXX

Itachi resisted the urge to sigh at his current…predicament.

Pein was such a pain in the ass sometimes.

"Do I make myself clear?" Pein was angry.

"…Hai."

"Good. Now leave." Pein turned around and sat back down behind his wooden desk.

Itachi turned and left the room with grace only known to powerful shinobi. Once the door was closed behind him, he let out a sigh. Pein had wanted to know about Sakura's assassination mission, _again._ Why didn't he just ask her himself? If he was suspicious of her, why didn't he interrogate her? She completed her mission, did she not? What was the problem?

Was there something else he was planning?

He looked to the direction of the kitchen when he heard Sakura's laughter drift into the dark hallway.

"Why's that?" He heard Kisame ask. He heard her laugh again.

"Because I _totally_ fuck—"

"Sakura." Itachi said coldly. His eyes traveled from Tobi, whose head had just hit the table, to the empty bottles all around the kitchen. Kisame didn't look drunk, except for the minor glaze over his eyes, and Deidara's cheeks were slightly red, and he was also swaying. Sakura looked at him, surprised apparently to see him standing in the hallway of the kitchen.

"Itachi!" He didn't like the way she was slurring his name. How drunk was she? "I was just talking about you!"

Itachi cocked his head. "Oh?"

"Yeah, I was talking about Sasuke actually…" Her gaze traveled to the ceiling, as though she was trying to remember something. "…But close enough!"

Itachi's eyes narrowed as Kisame suddenly became very interested the grain of the wooden table. Deidara choked and started coughing loudly when she said 'Sasuke', but she paid him no mind.

"Why were you speaking about Sasuke?" He asked angrily, but Sakura did not notice.

Sakura laughed again. "Well because Deidara asked me if I was a vir—"

"Sakura!" Deidara laughed nervously. "Why don't you see what Itachi wants to speak to you about, then you can come back."

Sakura smiled brightly. "Okay!"

She rose from the table, stumbling slightly, but used the counter to steady herself. The room was deadly silent while she used the walls to aid in her walking. She walked—stumbled—to the other side of the entranceway.

"Wha's 'a matter?" She asked him. He studied her for a moment.

"I just had a meeting with Pein about you."

She laughed. "Oh? What about?" There was something in her eyes that told him she wasn't as drunk as she seemed.

"He is growing suspicious of your behavior." He said flatly.

"Pshh…" She shook her head and waved him off. "He's just paranoid, everything's great!"

"…I hope you know what your doing." Was his only response.

Her face went blank, her mouth open slightly in surprise. _He knows…He knows_.

_Fuck._

She shrugged and made her way back towards the kitchen, leaving him facing the wall.

"Are you comin'?" She asked from the doorway.

He turned. "Hn."

"Oh stop acting like you have stick shoved up your ass and come drink with us."

He didn't move.

"Just this once…" She clasped her hands together, trying to persuade him with the sad eyes that usually got her what she wanted.

He walked down the hall and shut the door behind him.

"Fine!" She called down the hall.

XXXXX

"What did he want?" Deidara asked. Sakura shrugged.

"Nothing important." She sat back down. "So…where were we?"

"Your turn." Kisame downed another shot.

"Hmm…Deidara, do people often mistake you for a girl?"

"What?" Deidara said indignantly. "Of course not!"

Kisame chuckled. "I beg to differ, freak. People _always_ think you're a girl."

Deidara huffed. "My turn, fish-face. How do you get women when you look like _that_?"

Surprisingly, Kisame laughed. "I suppose the same way you get women when you look like _that_."

Sakura joined the laughter. "Nice one." She said, and raised her glass to Kisame.

He raised his glass. "Thank you. My turn. Have you ever made out with a girl?"

Sakura laughed.

"What is up with these questions? You guys need to seriously get laid." They shrugged.

"Hmmm…Oh yeah! I made out with Ino once." She laughed at their expressions. "What?" She asked innocently.

"It's always the quiet ones, yeah." Deidara took a long gulp of his drink.

"…It was a dare. Stupid, horny boys…" She finished with a whisper.

Itachi appeared in the doorway, looking pissed. They all looked up, wondering whether to say anything. No one spoke, but Sakura moved her seat over to allow Itachi room. Besides, she didn't want to embarrass him by saying he only came because she asked him to. He walked over, and sat down without a sound—his Akatsuki cloak gone.

_He changed!_ Inner Sakura giggled.

"My turn!" Sakura said brightly. "Itachi, who slashed your hitai-ate?" She still had no idea why she wanted to know so badly, but she knew he did not want to discuss it. To her, that meant he had something to hide.

"I will not be a part of this game." He said smoothly, avoiding her gaze.

"Fine." Sakura snapped. "Deidara, what's the most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to you?" She leaned closer to him, smiling slightly, knowing this was going to be good.

It was hard to tell in this light, but she thought she saw a tinge of red on his cheeks.

"Are you blushing?" Kisame asked incredulously. "You're gay."

"Shut it flipper!" Deidara yelled. Kisame rolled his eyes.

"Like I haven't heard that one before."

Deidara glared, but continued. "Once when I was…younger, I went to my girlfriend's house, and I was a bit—intoxicated, yeah. I went into the house, and I saw her lying on the couch. Well, I went over to her and we started making out, yeah. After a couple of minutes, the lights were switched on. I looked up, yeah, and it was my girlfriend who turned the lights on." His face was worried.

"…And?" Sakura pressed, suddenly very excited. She could already feel the laughter bubbling inside of her.

"The person I was kissing was…" Deidara gulped, "her brother." He looked so ashamed.

Sakura and Kisame roared with laughter. Even Itachi's lips curled into a smirk.

"How could you not notice?" Sakura had to steady herself to keep from falling over.

"Are you so used to making out with guys that you didn't notice your girlfriend was suddenly…flat?" Kisame asked.

Deidara's face burned with shame.

"It wasn't a proud moment in my life, yeah." He muttered.

"Was it because you look so much like a girl that he didn't notice he was kissing a man?"

"Alright!" Deidara yelled. "Let's drop it, yeah!"

The chuckling quieted down. "It's your turn, Deidara." It took him a long minute to gather his temper. He turned to Itachi just in time to see Itachi's gaze snap from Sakura.

"You still refuse to play, Itachi?" Deidara grinned arrogantly. Sakura held her breath, wondering what he would say, and wondering what questions to ask him. If he played, things would get a whole lot more serious.

"I will play." He seemed to frown at the word. "Under one condition. I will ask questions, but I will not answer any."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "That's convenient." Kisame snorted at her statement.

"Fine." Deidara said, wondering what on earth Itachi could possibly want to know about.

"Do you love my brother?" He asked, staring at Sakura intensely.

Well, that was unexpected.

Sakura seemed to choke on the air before she looked at him, her gaze guarded.

"No, Itachi," she said softly as she swallowed her warm drink, "not anymore."

"Why did you stop?" He didn't seem to care that he was no longer playing fairly. But then again, he never said he would abide by the rules.

"None of your business." She answered shortly. He smirked in a way that made her want to slap him.

"Why are you such a bastard?" _Why doesn't he just mind his own business?_

"Did you really kill the Mizukage?" He challenged.

"Why did you kill that boy's father? Don't you like violence?" Sakura's temper was starting to get the best of her—or maybe it was the alcohol, she didn't know.

Deidara and Kisame were watching the exchange like they were watching a tennis match—their heads darting back and forth.

"How many times did you fuck Sasuke?" Itachi looked bored, but Sakura could see the fury in his eyes.

Sakura hesitated for a moment—she didn't know if it was because it was the first time she heard Itachi swear, or maybe because she didn't know how he found out. But she stood up, their innocent game turning serious.

"Why did you leave him alive?"

"Why won't you answer?" She was sure that if he kept that sarcasm in his voice, she was going to punch him. There were tears shining in her eyes now, probably due to anger and frustration.

"Why won't you? Why did you leave him alive? The whole 'to measure my capacity' excuse is bullshit." She yelled.

Itachi seemed to hesitate for a moment, then said, "I said I wasn't going to answer questions."

Sakura scoffed. "That's real _fucking_ convenient. If you don't have to answer questions, then why should I? Why are you such a damn hypocrite?"

"If it bothers you so much, why haven't you left yet?"

"How could you kill your own parents?" She seemed to catch herself and cocked her head slightly.

"What do you mean 'why haven't I left yet'?" _Shit. He _does_ know._

Itachi backed off and stared at her in silence, his eyes softening slightly. "People are never what they seem." He said quietly. "…That's why I killed them." He stood, and left the room as quickly as he came.

Sakura didn't move. Her mouth was agape, and she was staring at where his face had been moments before, her eyes wide. She didn't know how long she stood there, her mouth wide open. When Kisame cleared his throat, she blinked and slumped back in her chair.

"Well…" He seemed to struggle with words. "I'm spent." He stood up and left, but not before shooting Sakura a pity glance before he walked through the doorway. She was sitting at the table, staring blankly at the wall. She looked—lost, confused maybe. Kisame sighed and walked into the dark hall.

"What—what the hell just happened?" She whispered. Deidara stood up and moved his chair closer. Timidly, he reached his hand out and put it over hers in her lap.

"It's alright, Sakura-chan, yeah." He said quietly. She looked at him and smiled sadly.

"You've never called me that before." She said quietly.

Deidara laughed quietly. "That's because Itachi would kick my ass if he heard that."

She smiled. "I doubt it. Itachi doesn't give a shit about me." Perhaps it was the alcohol, but she started to laugh.

But Deidara didn't. "You honestly believe that, yeah? I've never seen him so interested in anyone. He pays you a lot more attention than you think, yeah."

He watched as a tear fell out of her eye, and lifted a hand to wipe it.

"What's the matter?" He asked softly.

"I just...can't accept it. He's killed so many people. Am I just supposed to look past it all?"

Deidara thought for a long moment. "Yeah…" He smiled ruefully, "…yeah you are."

Her intake of breath was loud. "How?" She breathed.

"I don't know, yeah. That's between you and him."

She looked away from him, obviously not satisfied with his answer.

"Sakura-chan, do you love him?" He tried to ask as delicately as possible, but as soon as the words left his mouth, she broke into sobs. He put his hands around her and brought her to his chest. Unsure of how to console her, he didn't open his mouth.

She kept crying.

"Sakura, breathe."

She was silent for a long time while he held her. "Should I tell him?" She whispered.

He didn't know how to answer that. "I don't know, yeah."

She looked up at him and he tried to smile. "Thanks, Deidara."

He nodded and watched as she shakily stood up, using the table as leverage. He saw the way her hands shook as she grabbed the half empty bottle of sake, not bothering to use a cup. She swayed slightly as she made her way through the doorway, drinking from the bottle.

He could have sworn he heard her sharp intakes of breath as she walked towards the bathroom.

He sighed.

_You're so fucking blind, Itachi._

XXXXX

Sakura turned the water colder than normal. Stripping off her clothes, she took her bottle of sake into the shower with her. She thought a shower would calm her down, but it seemed to have the opposite effect. The time to herself allowed her to think about everything that was happening. Sliding down the wall, she wrapped her arm around her knees. Taking another swig of sake, she allowed her mind to wander to her village—the one she had committed treason against.

Hoping everyone was asleep, she didn't bother to hide conceal her sobs.

They really were going to hate her—Sasuke especially. No one would understand, Tsunade least of all. She was in love with a murderer. They would be so disappointed. She could only thank whatever God was listening that her parents were dead. She didn't think she would be able to handle their disappointment that she was a missing-nin (Tsunade would not have been able to tell them about her mission), let alone that she was in love with a cold-hearted killer.

Speaking of which, she was in love with someone who would never be able to love her back; someone with whom she would have no communication—it would be a one-sided relationship. He didn't love her; he would never love her. She would never know about his past, he wouldn't want to know hers. He wouldn't care—he doesn't care. That was a hard thing to accept.

She downed the contents of the bottle in one gulp. Wiping her mouth, she closed her eyes as she let her head rest on her forearm.

_Damn this. _

Naruto was probably going to die, Sasuke was probably going to die. Akatsuki was going to die. Itachi was going to die. At some point, she was going to be alone.

Who knew how much time there was left? Nothing was certain.

Suddenly, she felt the bottle being taken out of her hand and the water was shut off. Slowly she raised her head to see a hand being extended toward her.

"Come." He said.

But she continued to stare at his offered hand. Her eyes traveled to his, which were black. She took a deep breath, and closed her hand around his. He pulled her up, and thankfully had a beige towel in his other hand, which he promptly put around her. She just stood there, watching their reflection in the mirror. He looked up from just behind her left shoulder and caught her gaze. Surprisingly, he held it. She didn't have any idea of how long they stood there, just looking at each other.

He bent down, still holding her gaze and whispered, "Come." And kissed her shoulder.

She nodded.

It didn't matter how much time they had left. At least there _was_ time.

He raised her arm and put it around his shoulder, trying to support her. For some reason, the action made her giggle. She must have been one of those emotional drunks, being that she was crying not ten minutes before. Reaching her door, he slid it open, and dragged her inside. He hadn't fully closed the door before she pinned him to the wall with her petite body.

"Sakura." He said warningly as she slid her hands under his shirt. He did not want to admit that the hands running over his chest and abdomen was a pleasant feeling.

She stood in her tiptoes to bring herself face to face with him. As he looked into her eyes, he saw the same look that told him earlier she wasn't as drunk as she seemed.

"Shut up and kiss me, Itachi." She whispered against his lips. He did not move, so she removed her hands from under his shirt and placed them around his neck instead. He wanted to push her away, but all coherent thought flew out the window when she pressed her lips against his. She leaned forward into his body, desperately, it seemed, to get a reaction out of him.

She got one.

He raised his arms to her hips, and slowly dragged them up her back to settle on the sides of her neck. The heat that formed between them caused their kiss to become more hurried and hungry. It was odd, he thought, that she could get such a reaction out of him. The arms around his neck tightened, as if she knew what he was thinking, and their tongues glided ferociously against each other. Without giving it much thought, Itachi switched their positions, pressing her back to the wall instead. She moaned when he let his hands slide down her back, gripped the back of her thighs and lifted her up to allow for better access. With her legs now wrapped around his waist, he pressed against her harder wanting to feel ever curve of her body against his. His fingers were itching to remove her towel, and it took a significant amount of willpower not to remove it. When she pulled back for air, her heavy breathing was felt on his neck as he slid his tongue along her collarbone.

"Itachi." She moaned in his ear.

For some reason, his name seemed to waken him from his lustful haze. He abruptly stopped ravishing her neck, and raised his head slowly to look at her disoriented eyes. He didn't have time to admire the fact he could make her disoriented, when he remembered the amount of alcohol she'd consumed.

_She's drunk._

He pulled away from the wall, and placed her onto the bed. She was still breathing heavily, but made no attempt to stop him from leaving. She pulled her black sheets up over her towel-clad body.

"Goodnight Itachi." She called as he neared her door.

She didn't expect him to answer—he didn't, and shut the door behind him.

OOOOO

**You'll be happy to know that the rest of the story is almost completely written. I am deciding whether I want to add one more transition chapter before the 'climax' of the story, because without one, the timing may seem strange. So, next update should be within two weeks, but quicker after that. Thanks again to those who have been with me since the beginning. I really do appreciate it. **

**Please review if you like this fic.**

**Until next time!**

**P.S. If any of you read Taking Chances, I need a serious kick in the butt to finish the chap! Someone yell at me!**


	9. Chapter 9

**This is a 'tie up loose ends' chapter…Just another day in the life of an Akatsuki member. Even though this chap is of little importance, I really like it. **

**I don't own Naruto.**

**Thank you so much to everyone who has added me to their favorite authors! You have no idea how much that means to me, because I always thought I was an awful writer & I never thought I would get so much feedback.**

**Enjoy!**

**XXXXX**

_Goddamn meetings._

It was the tenth this week. The subject? Akatsuki, of course. Why the village elders kept having meetings about the same thing, Tsunade really didn't know. She was sitting behind her desk, all jounins present, while that old broad rattled off about the importance of security. Did she think Tsunade didn't know?

_Sigh._

When she felt the familiar sensation of a slug crawl up her leg, she had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing—a distraction!

_It's about time._

Knowing what it was, she bent down as nonchalantly as possible to retrieve the message. Smiling slightly, she opened the browned paper.

_Just received intel on 6__th__. Have not yet taken. Osaka St, Mist. No word yet on 9__th__. Will send word as it comes. My love_.

_Good job, Sakura_, she thought. This must have taken at least a week to get to Konoha, so unless something happened in the past seven days, Sakura was fine.

The only problem was that Akatsuki knew where the six tails was, which meant they wouldn't waste any time in retrieving it. In fact, they were probably on their way already.

She caught Kakashi's eye and gave him the signal that they received a message from Sakura—putting her hair behind her left ear with her right hand. She saw his eye grow worried, but she nodded slightly and smirked.

_She's okay. _

The tension in his shoulders relaxed and he nodded.

"—Therefore Uzumaki Naruto must be kept under watch at all times. Akatsuki cannot control the nine-tails, as the effects would be disastrous—"

_No shit._

It was only a matter of time until Sakura's true mission would be put into effect.

XXXXX

Sakura's head pounded as light filtered through her room and into her squinted eyes.

_What the hell happened last night?_

She sat up, running a hand through her hair—which was a bit damp for some reason.

_Oh yeah! I took a shower…and I was drinking sake in the shower…? Why?_

Sakura stifled a laugh…she remembered drinking—something about a game and Itachi—

"_Oh stop acting like you have stick shoved up your ass and come drink with us."_

Sakura blushed and covered her mouth to stifle a giggle. _Shouldn't have said that…_

And then it all came rushing back. The game, Itachi playing, the questions—the anger.

"_How many times did you fuck Sasuke?"_ Played over and over in her head. How the _hell_ did he know? Why did he care? Sakura remembered the fury in his eyes. What did it matter to him who she slept with?

But then she remembered the way his entire face softened when he said, _'People are never what the seem…that's why I killed them.'_ For a fleeting moment, she actually felt bad for him. There was more to the story—but with him, there was _always_ more. He was the perfect example of '_shinobi should learn to look beneath the underneath_.' But she also remembered that he was pissed. And if she knew anything about Itachi, he had a long memory. He would be subtle about it—but she knew that he'd still be angry.

Not all emotions were hidden from her.

He was a complex man—he did 'save' her from becoming a Jinchuuriki, didn't he?

_Shit! _

She had to write Tsunade. Running over to her desk to get out a piece of paper, she quickly wrote,

_Sixth is dead. Unsure of consequences. No news on ninth. My love._

What would happen now that the six tails was gone? Was her purpose gone because she no longer had a demon? Would Pein keep her for medical purposes?

When would they move into get Naruto?

…

_People are not what they seem…that's why I killed them._

She didn't want to think of how Itachi would react when he found out that _she_ was not what she seemed.

Summoning one of the slug children, she whispered, "take this to Tsunade-sama."

XXXXX

Last night was a mistake. One large, foolish mistake.

He shouldn't have argued with her. He shouldn't have listened to her when she asked him to drink with them. He shouldn't have helped her out of the shower. He shouldn't have kissed her. He shouldn't have touched her.

And he damn well shouldn't have _enjoyed_ kissing her and making her moan—

And want to do it again.

Itachi raised his hand to rub his eyes, hoping the action would dull the pain.

Tonight, she would continue healing his eyes. And they would maintain a professional relationship.

…

He sighed because he knew that was impossible. If he thought that she wasn't attracted to him, then he would have been able to leave her alone. But now that he knew she had feelings for him, now that he knew what she tasted like…there was no going back.

Or in her words, _there was nothing left to wait for._

XXXXX

After getting dressed, she walked into the hall just in time to see Hidan walking into his room with a pleasant "Fucking Orochimaru." He closed the door before she had the chance to ask him if something happened. Not that she cared about him, but was Sasuke still alright?

Walking briskly into the kitchen, she spotted a grumpy looking Deidara drinking tea for breakfast.

"Hello Deidara." She said brightly, taking a seat in a wooden chair across from him.

"Sakura." He nodded.

"Do you know anything about what's going on with Orochimaru?" She folded her arms in front of her.

His gaze darkened. "Just a bit. Sound, as you probably know, has been trying to destroy Konoha for a long time."

She nodded.

"Well, apparently, he wants Akatsuki's help, yeah." He sighed, resting his chin in his hand.

"What?" She asked incredulously. "Why?"

"He said he'll hand over the Kyuubi kid." He waved it off as if it was a ludicrous idea.

"In exchange for our help? We're only nine people…" Sakura was genuinely confused.

"I doubt that's all he wants." He muttered, more to himself than to her, taking a sip of his tea.

"What do you mean?" She asked, not liking how hard her heart was beating.

Something angry and resentful passed quickly through his face. "I don't know, yeah. I was just saying that I have a feeling that's not all Orochimaru wants. He's always been a selfish, arrogant bastard, and I'm sure that there's something else he wants, yeah."

"What gives you that feeling?" Did Sasuke have something to do with this?

"When Orochimaru was part of Akatsuki, it was no secret that he wanted Itachi, yeah." His gaze was serious.

Sakura shivered. "What do you mean…'wanted' Itachi?"

"Orochimaru wanted Itachi to be his new vessel, but Itachi was too strong, yeah."

_Of course!_ That made sense. He would never be able to get Itachi…so go for the younger brother. The one that can be easily manipulated… the perfect plan. Promise him power, and in return, take his power.

She tried to resist the urge to vomit. Orochimaru was a disgusting freak. She hoped one day, she would get the chance to kick his pedophilic ass.

But that still didn't make sense. Why would Orochimaru still want Itachi? Didn't he have Sasuke? If he couldn't get Itachi when he was younger, there was no way in hell he was getting him now. Maybe…Sasuke had something to do with it. Was he fighting back? Did Orochimaru think using Sasuke's body as a vessel wouldn't be as easy as it seemed?

Sakura had no idea. But she did know that _something_ wasn't right.

"Do you know when Sound will invade?"

Deidara shook his head. "Soon, yeah."

"Are there any other villages that are going to help him?"

He shrugged. "No clue, yeah. But I do know that he won't be alone. He is planning on totally wiping Konoha off the map. Many of the smaller villages resent Konoha's power, so they might try and join in on the massacre, yeah." Sakura tried to suppress a shiver.

Looks like there will be more to tell Tsunade.

She stood up to leave. "Thanks, Deidara, see you. And uh…thanks again for last night."

"Sure, Sakura-chan." He smiled.

"Oh by the way, I've been meaning to apologize for the…er…lap dance I gave you a while ago. I didn't mean to embarrass you." She said guiltily.

He waved it off. "It's no problem, yeah. Trust me, if there were a next time, I wouldn't stop you." He winked at her, and she smiled and left the room.

XXXXX

As soon as she was out of Deidara's view, she sprinted down the hallway, into her room, and closed the door quickly. Running to her desk, she whipped out another piece of paper.

_Sound will invade Konoha soon. Not sure of specific date. Other villages might be involved. _

She didn't like how helpless she felt. If she were here, she obviously couldn't be there fighting alongside of her friends. They would need her help…but there was nothing she could do.

But Naruto needed her help here. The safety of the entire village depended on the sacrifice she was making here.

Would Sasuke be fighting with Orochimaru? Was he really that different? Was he really that cold?

Then she remembered the night at the club, and she knew the answer.

No, there was no way he was that cold—it was all a front.

She and Naruto were still his best friends—his only friends. He might have severed the bonds between them, but there was nothing he could do that would make him forget them. No matter how hard he tried.

Deep down, the trio all knew how they felt about one another.

XXXXX

After a bit of light training and a shower, Sakura walked into the kitchen to have some lunch.

"Hello Sakura." She heard a voice say. She turned around, and unsuccessfully hid the fact that she just spilt her cup of tea all over the counter.

"Oh! Sasori. How was your mission?" She busied herself with trying to clean it up with a towel.

"Fine, thank you." He coughed slightly. "Everything is fine here, I presume."

"Ha!" She laughed nervously. "Yes, of course!" She was too enthusiastic. As she said before, it was unfortunate she was a bad liar at times.

"Ah. Good. That explains why you spilled your tea when I said your name." He coughed again.

_Shit. _

He had a smug smile on his face, that told her he would not be easily fooled.

"Um…" She began, her eyes darting to the door, "Well, actually, there was a bit of an…altercation last night." She could see Sasori trying to hide his amusement.

"An 'altercation'? Between…?"

"Me and Itachi." His brow rose, his face turning serious.

"Did he hurt you?" He asked in his normal soft voice, all traces of amusement gone, but somehow managed to still sound unconcerned.

"No, of course not! We just had an argument." _And then I drunkenly attacked him in my room wearing only a towel. _

"Ah." He went to get himself a mug for tea, covering his cough with a hand. "Dealing with Itachi-san is a tricky business. You have to know when to speak, and when to…what is the expression? Ah, 'shut up.'"

Sakura laughed lightly. "I don't think I've ever heard you speak more truer words."

Sasori smiled slightly. "It's none of my business what you fought about, but just remember: with Itachi, 'less is more'. Or perhaps, 'silence is more'."

Sakura sighed. "I think you're right." She turned to finish cleaning her spilt tea.

"Have you eaten yet?" She asked, wondering if Sasori might want some lunch. But when she turned around, he was falling to the floor, seemingly unconscious.

"Sasori!" She yelled, letting go of the tea on the counter and rushing to his side. She dropped to her knees. Checking his rapidly declining pulse, she knew she needed her medical bag from down the hall.

"Deidara! Itachi! Someone!" She yelled as loud as she could, bending over, trying to listen to his heart and lungs to check for fluid.

_Thump, thump…thump…thump._

"Shit." She mumbled. _Where the hell is everyone?_

"What's the matter, Sakura— Holy shit, yeah! What the hell happened?" Deidara asked, his face betraying his shock.

She raised her head from his chest. "Deidara, go into the closet in my room and on the left side, on the floor, is my medical bag, get it now." She commanded. He nodded as she heard his quickened footsteps on the wooden floor in her room.

He was back before she could blink. "There should be a small Petri dish in there, get it." He nodded and pulled the zipper.

Her hands glowed green as she tried to assess the damage. There seemed to be liquid in his lungs. Using her chakra to dig deeper, she could see in her mind's eye that the fluid looked dark in color and was shaped like little tiny beads—

Her eyes opened wide as she pulled away from him and gasped.

"Oh no…"

There was a slight pause in which no one moved expect for Sakura. She closed her mouth, fisted her hands, and leaned forward once more, her eyes glittering with determination.

"Deidara, get the largest bowl out of my bag and fill it with water." She heard the water running, but she didn't look up. "Hold his mouth open." He did so immediately.

But she didn't move.

"Why are you hesitating?" Itachi said, not indicating it was a question. It was the first time she realized he was standing there.

Her brow furrowed as though she didn't want to tell them the truth.

"This is going to hurt." She said quietly.

"Can you give him morphine or something?" Deidara asked.

She looked at him sharply. "It's not going to hurt him." Her face was expressionless, but on the inside, her heart was pounding.

She reached up and tied her hair behind her.

Tsunade had talked to her about this poison once, and it was not a fun exercise. The problem with this poison was that it usually killed because no medical shinobi wanted to endure that type of pain to heal just one person.

She sighed, and closed her eyes, hoping that it wasn't as painful as Tsunade said it was.

"_Fuketsu is a dangerous poison, Sakura. It is extremely rare, so pray that you never come face to face with it."_

"_Why is it so dangerous for medic-nin?"_

Carefully, she molded her chakra into a long string, and inserted it down his throat. Not knowing how long the poison had been in his system, there was a chance she would endure this pain for nothing.

But she had to try.

"_Because not only does it act quickly, it is extremely painful to both parties."_

_Sakura's eyes widened. "Both parties?"_

"_Hai. You will need to absorb the poison into your own body and destroy it from within you. It is impossible to get rid of otherwise."_

"_So then how can I destroy it?"_

Guiding the chakra string into his esophagus, she led it to his lungs. Fuketsu is an inhalant, therefore was most likely to have the largest build up in the lungs. It was also known to clump together like little beads. She needed to thread the chakra string, then start the transfer.

"_You will need to absorb it into your own body. Get every ounce of poison out of their bloodstream and gather it all into the lungs. Then, suck the breath out of the person, clearing the poison out of their passageways."_

"_Then what?"_

Sakura fished the poison out of Sasori's bloodstream, which luckily didn't take too long, but she was already sweating from the tediousness of the procedure.

"_The comes the pain. When the poison is transferred to you, you will immediately feel the affects of it. You will become groggy and sweaty, you will probably feel sick. You need to block the poison's electrical messages to the brain otherwise you will faint. You know how to slow down your nervous system, correct?"_

"_Hai."_

"_Good. After you cut off the impulses to your brain, you will need to fight the poison. And believe me when I tell you that it's not as easy as it sounds. It's extremely painful and you will need perfect concentration."_

All the poison was gathered in Sasori's lungs, and gradually, she started to remove the chakra string, careful as to not hit the walls of his throat, incase of scarring.

"_Have you ever done that, shishou?"_

"…_Yes."_

"_And? How did it end?"_

She bent over and put her hands on either side of Sasori's face, as she inched closer until she was about three inches from his lips.

"What are you doing, yeah?" Deidara sounded nervous.

Not moving her head and inch, she answered him quietly. "Please no one speak until I am finished."

Taking a deep breath and exhaling completely, she pressed her lips to his and sucked out the poison.

"…_Not well."_

Breathing in the poison was like breathing in water; it was suffocating. She desperately tried not to cough, in fear of not getting the entire amount out of his lungs. When there was no more breath, she pulled back, her mouth clamping shut in order to stop herself from screaming out in pain.

Ox—Tiger—Ox—Horse—

Her hands were clasped together in an attempt to keep her hands from shaking. She fell back onto the floor, unable to keep herself upright.

"Mmm." She groaned in pain, her mouth still not opening. Itachi watched as she turned a sickly shade of gray and looked like she was going to vomit. Was this supposed to happen?

Her legs were shaking now, and she was breathing heavily, but her face was still contorted in concentration.

After what seemed like hours, they heard a quick intake of breath as she eyes opened suddenly, and her hands hit the wood hard, as though she was looking for something to hold onto. Her eyes met Itachi's first, and his eyes held the same look of relief as he did after _that_ meeting with Pein.

She tried to slow her breathing and push herself into a sitting position.

"What—the hell—just happened?" Deidara said, kneeled next to Sasori, a look of disbelief on his face.

"I—I had to suck…poison…lungs." She closed her eyes trying to stable her mind and clam down from the adrenaline rush. Taking a few deep breaths, she pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to calm her now roaring headache.

"There was poison in his lungs, I had to suck it out and defeat it myself. That's the only way to get rid of it." She was still panting slightly, but was stable.

"What—"

"He'll be fine, Deidara, but he needs to sleep it off. Speaking of sleeping—" she rose, shakily, but still managed. "I need to take a long nap," she groaned.

Deidara nodded and grabbed both of Sasori's arms to drag him into the living room.

"Deidara!" Sakura exclaimed. "What are you _doing_? Don't drag him you idiot!"

He stopped. "Well how else do you want me to get him to the couch? You want me to _carry him_?" He asked as though it was the most ludicrous thing ever.

She rolled her eyes. "Of course not. How foolish of me to think that." She said sarcastically, and continued to her room, which luckily wasn't far.

"That was a foolish." She would recognize that voice anywhere. She looked up, and he was sitting in the corner of her room.

"How did you get in here so fast?" She asked as she closed her door. She knew he wouldn't answer, so she fell onto the bed.

Silence.

"What was foolish?" She asked, exasperated.

"Inhaling that poison." It was amazing, how no matter what he said, it still sounded like he didn't care.

"Well, did you have any other ideas? Because that's the only way to do it."

He didn't answer.

"I wasn't going to let him die Itachi."

"Hn."

She rolled onto her side, her back facing him.

She was just about asleep when he stood and said from her dorrway, "I will come to your room this evening."

Her response was a sleepy, "Hmm…"

XXXXX

When she woke up, moonlight was filtering in through the slightly open window. She had no desire to wake up from her nap, as she was groggy—a feeling she strongly detested. Covering her yawn, she sat up was suddenly overcome with a coughing fit.

"Foolish." She heard him say to himself.

"Itachi!" She saw him sitting in the corner again, looking sexier than she thought possible. She fought the rising blush to her cheeks when she realized how awkward this was going to be…with him in her room…alone…dear God, help her.

He just sat there and stared, no care in the world, apparently.

"Would you like to begin?"

Sakura was surprised at her confident tone—she was incredibly nervous. She desperately wanted to look into his memories again, but if he ever found out, he would kill her on the spot. Of that, she was certain.

He continued staring with onyx eyes.

She began to fidget under his stare. Why wasn't he saying anything?

"I would first like you to tell me why you were shocked last time." He said smoothly and she noticed his hair was not tied.

She sighed—and hoped she was a good actress.

"There is a something in your chakra passageways that is black in color. I think it is coming from your eyes, but I think it may also be decaying your overall health. The dead cells are not passing through your body, rather they are acting like a disease, spreading throughout your passageways."

Inwardly, Itachi was caught off guard.

"The extent of the damage took me by surprise."

…

"…I would say that you seemed deeply saddened by this."

It took everything in her not to start hyperventilating.

"It is just strange to see someone who is one of most powerful shinobi in the world be affected so negatively by his greatest strength." She said quietly. Well, this part was true. He was in overall bad health. And she was surprised that his Sharingan, his trump card, was affecting all of his organs.

But what shocked her most of all was that night, she felt panic run through her veins. The infamous man sitting in front of her was no longer invincible.

His expression was unreadable, but there was curiosity in his eyes. He seemed to find it strange that she was afraid for him.

"…And I was worried." She admitted quietly.

Damn, this supposed lie was turning to be more truthful than originally planned.

"Worried?" He questioned as he stood from the chair and started to walk towards her, not taking his eyes off her face.

She looked at him, her gaze softening.

"Hai. Worried." She whispered.

"Explain this." She thought she heard a bit of softness in his tone, but she knew she imagined it. Itachi was anything but soft. Did she admit this to him? He would probably chastise her for her weakness. But hell, he already thought she was weak…so a bit more wouldn't hurt.

"You are in much worse health than I thought. I was worried for your…safety. In my eyes, you had gone from _the_ Uchiha Itachi to…just Itachi last night. You have not noticed any difference in your body's performance?" She was trying to change the topic, he noted as he sat down on the bed.

He was concentrating not on her question, but what she had said just before that.

"Just…Itachi?" He asked quietly.

Her eyes widened when she realized the familiarity in which she had just spoken to him.

"Er…yes. 'Just Itachi' meaning that I had always viewed you as someone who would never be beaten in battle, and the other night I saw that you are just a regular human being that could be taken down by your own body." She wasn't sure if she was talking herself into a deeper hole by damaging his ego and pride.

He continued studying her face.

"I know that sounds incredibly stupid, but…that's what I thought." She finished lamely.

He wasn't quite sure how to respond without betraying his confusion by her statements. So she had never seen him as normal before? Well, he supposed he wasn't normal, but he was a human being…not a machine as so many people told him.

When he didn't respond, she raised her fingertips to start the healing. He didn't seem to notice, and he didn't stop her.

Pushing her chakra, and her heart hammering against her ribs, she pushed her searching chakra to his brain passageways once more.

_I watched as he wept on the floor. For a moment, I was fascinated by his weakness. But I quickly dismissed that thought. __**He**__ would not want me thinking weakness was acceptable. Sasuke didn't see, but as he looked at his parents' bodies, a tear silently made its way down my face. I looked at him, and hoped, prayed that one day, he would end this. _

_End __**me**__. _

_Then, perhaps he could finally live in peace. _

Forcing herself to not panic, Sakura continued to pump healing chakra to Itachi's eyes to dull the throbbing. His last thought as ringing through her ears. Did that mean what she thought it meant?

_He wants to die._

That thought sounded strangely foreign. How could someone want to die? She couldn't imagine that feeling.

Putting it aside for now, she continued to try and repair his damaged cells.

_He wanted me to practice shuriken training with him again. I suppose that is the duty of a brother…but I cannot do it. _

_I will not do it. _

_If I did, it would only make Sasuke a better ninja. Then, he would gain the approval of my father…and if that happened, there would be no telling what my father might do. I don't want him to be brought up like me. _

_But maybe I'm looking about this the wrong way. If I do train him, perhaps my father will think better of him. That way, his future will be secure. _

_But the pressure will be too great. _

"Why are you not breathing?"

Sakura's eyes opened. "What?"

"You are not breathing."

"Oh. I tend to do that when I am concentrating." _Lies._ She smiled and tried to ignore the way Itachi's eyes flickered to her lips.

He 'hn'ed as if he weren't listening—his eyes still on her mouth.

"Do you feel any better?" His eyes slowly made their way up her face. She fisted her hands, trying to ignore the way he was looking at her hungrily, and trying to keep herself from doing something stupid.

_Do not attack him again. Do not attack him—_

"I feel…different." Whether he meant to sound like there was a double meaning behind that, she didn't know. But the look in his eye caused her legs to squeeze together in an attempt to ignore her sudden urge to straddle him.

"Oh." She sounded breathless as she let her gaze drop to his lips, then down to his shirt that left little to the imagination where his chest muscles were concerned.

"Continue." Her gaze snapped up to his, and she didn't miss the slight amusement that was present.

_Continue what?_

_Healing? Or something else…_

She nodded and raised her hands, but his eyes caught the slight shaking of her arms. Traveling to her face, he noticed the slight sheen of sweat—she was exhausted.

Activating his Sharingan, he saw how low her chakra was—dangerously low. Why was she not saying anything?

"What are you doing?" She asked when he caught both of her wrists. She ignored how hot his hands were on her chilled skin.

"Stop." His breath ruffled her hair slightly. _Too close, too close…_

She pulled back and breathed a sigh of relief. "That's all I can really do for tonight, anyway. I am drained from healing Sasori." She said, thoroughly exhausted. He nodded, stood up and began to walk out of the room.

"Itachi, I wanted to…talk to you about last night." He stopped walking, and she had to settle for staring at his back. Why did he wear that damn cloak around the base?

"Hn."

"I just wanted to apologize for my behavior." She sat back into her bed, in the spot he had been occupying seconds before.

"Hn?"

_You know what I'm talking about…_"I apologize for…kissing you." She finished, slightly embarrassed.

He didn't move, and the silence stretching longer than it should have.

"…There is nothing left to wait for." He said, as if it were the simplest situation in the world.

She was so shocked, she merely continued staring at the door long after he closed it.

…

Then, she smiled.

**OOOOO**

**Sorry for the filler. Next chap, things start picking up. Does anyone get annoyed by my notes? I just realized that they are really long for each chap. Lol.**

**One more thing, I'm not sure how many of you read my bio updates, but the 'argument' I was referring to between Itachi and Sakura was **not** the one from last chapter. But it is coming soon! Just incase anyone was wondering. **

**Hmm…what's going on with Orochimaru?**

**Until next time. **


	10. Chapter 10

**I honestly cant believe I am on chapter ten already! [We're more than halfway done!] I have been looking forward to posting this chapter for a long time! I'm so excited for your reactions. This is a 16-page chapter, so I better get some lovin'! Enjoy!**

_**I don't own Naruto.**_

**This chap is dedicated to **_**Orochimaruismyman**_** not only for reviewing constantly, but to make up for the fact that I called Orochimaru a pedophile last chap!**

**XXXXX**

_Knock, knock._

She heard a muffled _come in_ as she entered Sasori's room. The base had been strangely quiet that morning, Sakura noted when she woke up to almost complete silence. Pushing the door open, Sakura entered to see Sasori sitting on the edge of his bed, slightly hunched over in pain.

"How're you feeling?" Sakura asked, having a feeling she already knew the answer. He looked at her and smiled pleasantly.

"Good morning, Sakura. I thought you might pay me a visit this morning." His tone was forced, as though he were speaking through pain. She heard the admission he didn't want to say out loud.

"Lie back, please," she said, her professional side taking over. He grunted softly as he laid back.

"I need direct contact with your skin, would it be alright if I slid my hands under your shirt?" _That sounded wrong_, she noted, as she felt her cheeks heat slightly. He nodded with an amused smirk.

She put her hands on him and let her chakra pour into his—

_Holy shit._ She blinked and started to laugh. _I forgot he was a puppet!_

"Being that you have—" she met his eyes and tried to keep from laughing, "—a _limited_ number of blood vessels, this shouldn't take long."

"You forgot I was made of wood?" He asked, amusement dancing in his eyes.

_Yes._

"Er…yes, actually. When you fainted, I wasn't really thinking about anything other than making sure you didn't die." She laughed. "But you have to admit—forgetting that you aren't completely human might have been important."

He nodded. "Perhaps."

She continued to send healing chakra to his lungs—which she had the time now to realize—were considerably smaller than the average human's.

There wasn't much to heal, as he was just feeling sore, so when she finished a short time later, she held out a hand to help him out of bed. He took it gratefully.

"Do you know where everyone is?" She asked, steadying him.

"Itachi-san and Kisame are on a mission, as are Deidara and Tobi. They will return by tonight." He was smirking in a way that Sakura didn't appreciate.

"Do you need anything else?" She said angrily, eyes narrowed, letting him know that she knew what he was laughing at. He shook his head, the smirk not leaving his lips.

"Would you stop smirking? I was curious about where _everyone_ was!" _Well, maybe one person in particular…_

"Of course." He said, not believing a word she said. "You were supposed to go with him, but he took Kisame instead."

Her brow furrowed. "Why?"

"I would assume it was because your chakra was depleted."

She sighed. "Okay then, get some rest." She smiled and turned to walk out.

"Sakura," she turned, "I…appreciate your ability." He was standing a few feet behind her with his hands on his chest.

_Prideful bastards, the lot of them._

She smiled slyly, "You're very welcome," and closed the door behind her. Walking soundlessly into her room, she flopped onto the bed, and was asleep by the time her eyes closed.

XXXXX

Waking up sometime later, Sakura was glad it was still light out. She sat up, pushed the blanket off of her, and her feet met the cold ground. Brushing her hair and tying it up, she decided to go outside and train a bit, leaving her cloak in the closet.

Before she left Konoha, Tsunade had promised her that she and Kurenai would work together in genjustu training. She was sincerely looking forward to it, but now it seemed unlikely…could she persuade Itachi to help her?

_I doubt it. _

He might teach her the basics, then she'd be on her own—he wouldn't dare teach her something that might make her more powerful. Sighing, she opened the door to the base and went outside. It was a bit cold—as it was fast approaching fall now. She shrugged off the temperature and went back to concentrating on all the things she could do with perfect chakra control and an affinity for genjustu. She knew more than one thousand ways to affect—or kill—the body by just touching. Coupled with genjustu, she could confuse her opponent's mind, then kill them with just a tiny amount of chakra. Granted, that was best-case scenario, but if she could get close enough, a tiny shock would be enough to confuse the nervous system.

She needed someone to practice with—and Sasori was out of the question. He needed to rest.

"Sakura-san!" She knew the owner from the cheery tone.

"Hello Tobi." She greeted as he was returning from his mission, Deidara at his side. "How was your mission?"

"Psh…no problem, yeah." Deidara said with a wave of his hand and a wink.

"It was very good, Sakura-san, no problems whatsoever."

"Good." She smiled. "Hey, Deidara, could you help me with something?" She hoped he could tell from the look on her face that it needed to be in private.

"Sure, yeah, let me put my stuff away." He said, motioning to the bag he was carrying.

"Okay. Do either of you need anything healed?" She asked with an incline of her head.

Deidara shook his head as he walked inside. "No I'm fine, thank you, Sakura-san." Tobi said politely as he made to follow his partner.

A few minutes later, Deidara walked back outside, smirking as always. Rolling her eyes at his arrogance, she waited for him to come closer.

"So, what do you need help with, yeah?" He stopped a short way in front of her, arms crossed.

"Genjustu." She said truthfully.

"Genjustu?" His smirk vanished. "You need Itachi for that, not me, yeah."

Sakura shook her head. "No, I need you for something else."

He raised a brow, not knowing whether or not to take her serious tone to heart. "Okay, yeah. What is it?"

"I want you to tell me about Pein." She forced her face to remain neutral because to be honest, she was slightly frightened. She had spoken to him on only a few occasions, and now she _knew_ that he suspected her of something. Asking too many questions would draw attention to herself, but she needed to risk everything for Konoha's safety.

"Why are we talking about this outside, yeah?" He asked, looking around.

"Because I need to spar with someone." She said levelly.

"Taijustu?" His smirk growing more pronounced.

"Yeah." She said before he could finish the sentence, and smiled. Kunai in each hand, she took a few steps back from him, just to the borderline of the trees, and waited for him to make a move.

Grinning in a way that made Sakura's hair stand on end, he stood there, hands underneath his cloak. He couldn't be making bombs, this was just taijustu… her eyes narrowed. What was he doing?

Then before she could blink, he flung about twenty small clay bombs towards her.

Panic crossed her features when she realized that there was no time to dodge them all. But, he was too close to use bombs...why was he not moving?

_Son of a bitch, it's genjustu._

"Kai!" She yelled, and the bombs disappeared. When her eyes focused on him, he was doubled over in laughter.

"You should have seen your face, yeah!" She crossed her arms and shifted her weight to one foot.

"Ha. Ha. You are so funny." _Asshole._

Standing upright, "Sorry, Sakura-chan, I couldn't resist. I guess I _can_ do some genjustu, yeah." He scratched his chin, pretending to be thinking.

Picking up the kunai she had dropped to dispel his illusion, she wasted no time to fling them at him as hard as she could. He dodged them easily, but his humor as vanished, and now his eyes were lit with challenge.

"I haven't spent much time with Pein to really know him, but all I know is that there's something going on between him and Konan, yeah." He crouched into a defensive pose.

Sakura snorted. "I don't care about their relationship, you idiot—"

"That's not what I'm talking about, yeah." His gaze darkened, standing straight.

"I mean they're planning something that no one knows about, yeah. Something on the side…"

That caught her attention. "How the hell do you know that?" Her brows furrowed.

"Tobi told me he heard them talking about it, yeah." He shrugged.

Sakura felt like ice had slipped into her stomach. "Tobi told you?"

"Yeah."

_How did Tobi know? I thought Pein hated him…_

"…He was also the one who—wait." His brows pulled together as though he was trying to remember something.

"I remember walking in on a conversation he was having with Tobi once…"

"…And?" Sakura pressed.

"Tobi was the one who told Pein about Sound, that's how I knew Sound was invading Konoha. But how did Tobi know that?"

"That's a good question." Sakura was deep in thought, chills running down her body now. _Something's not right…_

"That motherfucker!" He suddenly yelled, pouting like a child.

"What?" She blinked, surprised at his outburst.

"He's doing side-missions for Pein, yeah! I thought Itachi was the favorite…" Deidara was obviously highly offended, but Sakura didn't have time to be amused. This was something she'd obviously have to be paying more attention to.

"What's his plan for the tailed demons? Where are they kept?" She asked, trying to mask her uneasiness.

"They are kept in a giant stone statue, on the border of fire and wind country, yeah. Originally, each member was supposed to get one, but now that the sixth is dead, I don't know what will happen, yeah." He paused, thinking. "He told us in the beginning that his goal was peace." He snorted. "I don't know if that's still his goal, yeah, but if it is, he's got a strange way of going about it…"

"You mean by killing everyone who gets in his way?" Her hands were now on her hips.

Deidara nodded.

"Why does he want peace anyway?" _He seems like the type who would want anything but peace…_

"No idea, yeah." He shrugged.

"What did members becoming Jinchuurikis have anything to do with his goal?"

"Each member would get their own territory to rule over, yeah. We would all answer to him, obviously. But everyone would make sure that there were never any wars."

"Ah." She nodded. "I see. So basically he would have peace between nations…by having a dictatorship?"

He nodded.

"So basically everyone would be enslaved, but as long as there were no wars, everything would just be peachy?"

He held his hands up. "Don't kill the messenger, yeah. It wasn't my idea."

"Yeah but you're a part of it!" She yelled.

Deidara raised a brow. "…So are you."

She closed her mouth promptly and tried to calm herself down. _Breathe, Sakura, breathe. _Pinching the top of her nose, she counted to ten. _You almost blew it…again._ _Relax. For Naruto. _His face flashed through her mind, and calmed considerably when she remembered that his life was at stake.

She couldn't save Sasuke, and she be _damned_ if she couldn't save Naruto.

Keeping Naruto in mind, she grinned slightly and made a hand signal.

_For Naruto. _

"_Kage bunshin-no-justu_!" Ten Sakuras appeared in a circle around her, each grinning.

Deidara smiled and stuck his hand in his clay pouch. "Not just taijustu anymore, yeah? I was wondering when you'd get serious."

XXXXX

Itachi and Kisame arrived sometime later, bringing food back from a nearby village. Kisame said their mission was 'easy as shit', but Sakura's mind was focused on Itachi's outstretched hand—he remembered to bring back her favorite: tempura.

"Tempura again, yeah?" Deidara whispered in her ear as he walked by. "Don't tell Kakuzu that he's spending extra money on you." Sakura bit her cheeks to keep from smiling.

Her eyes followed him as he sat down across from her. "Shut it or I'll rearrange your nerves." She whispered menacingly.

He chuckled. "Oh no! You're so cruel, yeah!" He said in a girly voice.

"You'll think it's cruel when you go move your leg to walk and you _accidentally_ punch yourself in the face." She smiled evilly. He didn't make fun of her again after that, although he huffed at her smug expression.

Her gaze traveled to Itachi, who had seen the exchange. She couldn't tell what he was feeling from the blank look in his eyes, but she nodded slightly to thank him for her food. He quickly averted his gaze, obviously uncomfortable with her appreciation.

Sitting down to eat, Sakura looked around at the members sitting around the table. Who would have thought that one day she would have been sitting having dinner with the world's most wanted killers? Those same people who wanted to kill her best friend? Who would have imagined that she would be in the same room as the man who made one of her best friend's lives a living hell? She smirked a bit just thinking about it.

She looked around as Deidara and Sasori were having another discussion (argument, rather) about the meaning of art.

"How can you say that? Art is fleeting! If it lasted forever it wouldn't be considered art."

"Then what would it be considered exactly?" Sasori asked smoothly. Sakura smirked as she directly her attention elsewhere, not wanting to listen to this argument for the millionth time.

"You should stop," Itachi was saying to Kisame.

"Stop? Why would I do that?" Kisame asked.

Sakura looked at Itachi and saw him close his eyes. She knew that if possible, now would be the time that Itachi would sigh.

"Eventually, it will affect your performance on missions." Itachi said.

"Not to mention that it is killing your liver." Sakura chimed in. He looked at her and smirked.

"Thanks for your concern, princess, but who knows when my last day will be?"

Sakura rolled her eyes. She was not getting involved in this argument again, either. He was right, in a way, but it was too morbid for her.

"Fine. Just drink yourself into oblivion, then." Sakura sighed.

Kisame snorted. "You're one to talk. I seem to remember not too long ago you were pretty trashed yourself…"

"The difference between you and me is that I know how to counter the affects."

His answer was a roll of his eyes.

Kisame's stubbornness had suddenly brought Sasuke to her mind. Sighing, Sakura's attention turned inward as she started to try and figure out the meaning of his words that night at the club. So he obviously had known that she was 'involved' with Itachi? He could tell by just watching their interactions? Why wasn't he angry? Why was he 'giving' them more time together? She was now more confused than ever. She tried to stifle a yawn, but of course Itachi caught it.

She saw the question in his eyes.

"I'm fine," she answered. "I just had a long—_yawn_—night."

"Hn." '_I don't believe you_.'

"That figures," she mumbled, dropping her chopsticks.

She saw Itachi smirk. He would never outwardly show that he actually was concerned for her well-being, so he let the topic drop, but he continued to stare at her as though he was waiting for something.

She knew what it was, and he would have to wait.

"I'm going to sleep," she said suddenly. She still hadn't fully recovered from the three healings and spar she had today. She could feel her fellow members' stares, but at that moment, she wasn't concerned.

Just as she was about to stand up, something very peculiar happened…

_**FLASH**_

_She stood in a dark room that was only lit with two candles positioned behind her. It was cold and she heard a steady drop of water from the ceiling._

"_Sakura!" She heard a man's voice call out. _

_**FLASH**_

She was back at the table, unaware that every eye in the room was now on her. She didn't move her eyes however, which were currently staring at her plate.

_What the hell is going on_?

_**FLASH**_

"_Sakura!"_

_She was back in the room. She tried to call out, but the only thing she heard was a whisper. _

_Why did this place seem so familiar? _

_**FLASH**_

"Sakura?" Deidara asked. "What's wrong?"

No answer.

Eyes flittered to Itachi, as though they were afraid of what his reaction might be.

He continued to watch her, unblinkingly.

_**FLASH**_

_Suddenly, she saw two eyes as black as night materialize in front of her. _

"_Sakura, please," the man said in a distressed voice. _

_She could only continue to watch in horror as she felt the man's blood start to soak through her shoes. _

_She couldn't tell in this light if it was Sasuke or Itachi. The candlelight only reflected their eyes. Her instincts told her who it was, but she needed another clue to be certain._

"_Help me."_

_And that was all she needed._

_**FLASH**_

Sakura stood up so suddenly that her chair flew backwards and smashed into the kitchen counter. Her eyes, wide as saucers, were still staring at the same spot on her white plate.

Everyone was concentrating so hard on her horror-stricken face, that no one noticed the fleeting look of something akin to panic cross Itachi's face.

"Sakura." Itachi said in a stern voice, recovering from his moment of 'weakness'.

"Sasuke," she whispered, her eyes frozen to the spot on the table, hands clenched.

Itachi's eyes narrowed.

Her eyes suddenly snapped up to look Itachi right in the eye. Everyone's level of panic rose a bit when they saw her wild looking, tear-filled eyes.

"Itachi," she said, her voice wavering. At this, Itachi also rose from his chair.

"Sakura, what happ—"

"Deactivate your Sharingan!" She said, getting hysterical. Itachi and Sasuke's eyes were very close to the same color, but Itachi's had more of a green and purplish glint to them, while Sasuke's had more blue. She needed to be 100 percent sure it was Sasuke before she went running to him.

For a moment, Sakura could clearly see the shock cross his usually emotionless façade.

They just stared at each other—he, calm and collected, and she, petrified.

"Deactivate it, please!" She said, now yelling, as the tears came faster.

The rest of the table just watched in shock at the interaction between the two.

Itachi continued to stare at her, red Sharingan gleaming.

"God damn it, Itachi! Turn your Sharingan OFF!" She yelled, breathing heavily.

Itachi closed his eyes, and slowly opened them to reveal his onyx eyes. If she had been thinking clearly, she would have been very grateful—and shocked—that he listened to her for once. She looked into them, and they confirmed what she already knew.

She raised her hands and started to pull slightly on her hair.

"No, no, no, NO!" She began chanting, now pacing in circles.

Itachi was starting to feel what he supposed was panic, and he did not like the feeling one bit. He was about to open his mouth when she starting yelling.

"NO!" She shouted loudly as she dropped to her knees, breathing heavily.

Everyone was on their feet now, not having any idea what was happening or how to fix it.

Itachi did not move. For once in his life, he was not only at a loss for words, but he had absolutely no idea what to do.

"Sakura, what is it?" Deidara tried.

She was crying hard. This time, Itachi's Sharingan (now activated) caught that she was attempting to rub the skin in between her shoulder blades. Not wasting any time, he walked over and put his hand on her back, in an attempt to rip her shirt so he could see what she was trying to get at.

Just as his hands ripped the back of her shirt open, Sakura was brought back into reality. She immediately looked up, with a shocked expression, almost as though she had forgotten where she was and whom she was with.

"I need to leave immediately," she croaked out, getting to her feet. Itachi never got a good look at what was on her back.

Deidara and Kisame looked at each other.

"Where are you going?" Itachi asked her monotone, also rising to his feet.

"I don't know the exact location." She answered. _But I have a pretty good idea_.

"No," he said.

If she could have, she would have let out a sarcastic laugh.

Instead, she tried to take a calming breath.

"You're not going to save him," he said, no hint in his voice as to the sudden anger he felt that she was going to run off to save his foolish brother.

Sakura snapped her head in Itachi's direction.

"Excuse me?" She said. _Now's not the time to get into a fight, Sakura. You need to leave right this second if you want to save him. Your seal already burned…_

Kisame looked at Deidara. "Save who?" He mouthed. Deidara shrugged.

"You're not going to rectify what ever problem my foolish brother has gotten himself into."

Everyone's eyes widened.

"You don't have any say in the matter, Itachi. I am going whether you like it or not." She turned around and headed for the stairs. Itachi got a glimpse of what was in between she shoulders: it was an Uchiha fan. His eyes narrowed and he suddenly felt something red hot run through his body. Was it a tattoo? As far as Itachi knew, Sakura and his brother were never romantically involved…_that_ was it! They _had_ to have been involved. Why else would he give it to her?

_They __**did**__ sleep together_, the thought rang through his head, loud as a gong. He said it just to get a rise out of her, but she never answered…Just the thought of Sasuke touching her made Itachi livid. It couldn't be a tattoo. No, it had to be a seal. Why did she have it? When did he give it to her? He needed to know the details before he did something rash.

Kisame, Deidara, and Sasori stood silently in the kitchen wondering what the hell just happened.

The trio watched as Sakura ran back down the stairs, crossed entranceway, and walked out of the front door, slamming it in her wake.

Kisame turned around to ask Itachi if he was going to follow her.

But Itachi was already gone.

"Shit." Kisame said sitting down again, sighing. "Deidara…?"

"Yeah." Deidara replied already molding his clay into a bird that could track Sakura and Itachi.

"Should we…?" Kisame asked.

"We'll give them a few hours, then we'll go." Sasori said.

Deidara and Kisame nodded.

It was going to be a long night.

XXXXX

Sakura had never run so fast in her entire life. The woods around her were only a blur of green and brown as she shot through the trees. It wasn't for a few miles of running when she realized she had been crying.

She was going to be too late.

She could feel it.

It was just one more thing to add to her list of failures.

_Damn it!_

She knew this would happen. She **knew** he was going to get himself killed.

But he was an Uchiha. He didn't listen to anyone else's advice. She snorted.

_He doesn't have any idea how much he and Itachi are alike. _

Itachi.

Concentrating her mind as much as she could, she began to try and feel for Itachi's chakra.

Her eyes widened when she realized just how _fast_ he was coming up behind her.

_Shit. _

XXXXX

"Sakura." She knew exactly what he wanted just from the way he said her name.

But she didn't stop.

Pushing harder, her eyes widened when she realized she didn't have time to stop herself when he appeared right in her path.

"Itachi! What are you—" She ran right into him, but he didn't move an inch. Instead, he grabbed her upper arms to keep her from escaping.

"Sakura." He said calmly. She immediately squeezed her eyes shut.

She thought he would take it as a challenge—but he didn't.

"Sakura," He began in a voice that told her he thought she was being foolish, "open your eyes."

"Listen, Itachi, I know you don't care whether he dies or not, but I am going. And quite frankly, you can't stop me."

If he were being perfectly honest with himself, he would have admitted that he was taken aback by the fear in her voice. She was genuinely terrified that Sasuke was going to die.

"I have no intention of stopping you."

"That's smart because one wrong move and I'll blind you before you can say—what?" She opened her eyes and blinked.

He continued staring at her.

"Then…why did you stop me?"

He smirked and turned around. "You are going the wrong way." And he pushed off the branch and turned south. She followed him, wondering why on earth he would help her.

XXXXX

She didn't know how long they raced silently through the trees. She barely registered the blur of trees around her or the coolness of the night—the only thing she could see was the moonlight reflected off of Itachi's hair. They were completely silent—save for the rustle of cloaks every now and then.

How did Itachi know where Orochimaru's base was? Had he ever been there before?

She knew she could not voice her questions incase they stumbled upon enemy shinobi. They could not afford—_she_ could not afford to waste anymore time. She had no idea whether what she saw was in the future or past.

But she did know that she wasn't looking forward to seeing him again. She knew it would be difficult. She often found it hard not to blame herself for the way things turned out; if only she tried harder—tried harder to be his friend, tried harder to help him, call for help when he left.

She knew it wasn't her fault, but that didn't make it any easier.

She couldn't help but feel a rush of anger towards Itachi: everything somehow led back to him. If he hadn't killed the clan, would she be in Konoha right now, safe and sound with her friends? She sighed.

_I'm just trying to find someone to blame. _

Itachi had nothing to do with Akatsuki's idea to capture the tailed demons. But if he hadn't killed the clan, would he have been an Akatsuki member? Of course not. Did he come here because he had nowhere else to turn?

"It's about fifty meters to the North." Itachi stopped, and Sakura stepped next to him.

"Hai. I see it."

Itachi nodded.

"Can you see anyone with your Sharingan?"

He paused for a moment, and Sakura assumed he was counting. "There are about thirty guards outside. Jounin level."

Thirty would be no problem. The problem was that they couldn't inside undetected.

"Okay. Can you tell where the entrance is?"

"It's along the western wall on the right." He answered without hesitation.

_How do you know that?_ Was on the tip of her tongue.

"Okay. So, do you have a plan?"

He turned towards her, his brow lifted. "You were going to come here by yourself with no information whatsoever. Does it matter if I have a plan?"

"Er…I suppose not." She looked away. "Okay, then," she sounded no braver than she felt, "I guess we just show up and fight whomever comes our way."

"You are foolish."

"What? You just said—"

"I will put them in a genjustu, you find the entrance."

"Well what are you going to do?" She asked, still not looking at him.

"Fight." He said as if she was stupid.

_Of course_.

"You can put them all in genjustu at once?" She asked, her gaze snapping to him.

He nodded.

"Alright," she said, dread starting to make itself known along with the fear in the pit of her stomach, "let's go."

**OOOOO**

**I'm quite curious as to what you thought if this chapter, so your feedback will be greatly appreciated! **

**Some 4theloveofholy trivia: This was the first chapter I ever wrote for this story! Then I wrote the first, then the last [there should be a total of 18 chapters].**

**Until next time!!**

**By the way, I always update my bio, so if you want to know when the next chapter of my stories will be out, chances are it'll say. Next up: What Defines Us.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Thank you so much for your reviews! They make me smile. **

**As I said last chapter, I really hope this lives up to everyone's expectations. Action scenes are not my forté. **

**I don't own Naruto.**

_**Read closely. **_

**OOOOO**

"…Let's go."

Simultaneously, they jumped tree to tree, their pace consciously quick. There feet made no sounds, the only noise coming from the swish of their cloaks. Thoughts ran through her mind at lightening speed—all revolving around Sasuke: Team 7…_Naruto_, what this meant.

If he died, she would lose a best friend. A precious person. One of the few people she failed to save. She couldn't even bring herself to think of how it would affect Naruto. He would be crushed.

This would change everything.

Stealing a glance to her left, she wondered what, if anything, Itachi was thinking. She knew that there was a part of him that wanted Sasuke to kill him. But was there another part of him that was sad? _Probably not, being that he basically destroyed Sasuke's life._ Why did he come? Why did he care? Would he be affected by his brother's death?

Even if he was, he wouldn't show it.

They stopped when the dense forest ended. Scanning the horizon quickly, Sakura realized that Itachi was right—of course he was—there were about thirty Jounin level shinobi patrolling the exterior. Although Sakura didn't say it out loud, she was impressed that he could put thirty people in genjustu at once.

_This is why I want to learn from him…_

_Now's not the time_, she scolded herself. _Sasuke's dying and you're thinking about getting stronger? _Pushing the thought out of her mind before she could feel any more guilt, she concentrated on finding Sasuke's chakra…There seemed to be barriers around the base, so she'd have to be inside in order to find Sasuke's chakra.

"Okay. Tell me when it's clear." Sakura's voice shook and she knew Itachi heard it. _Please Sasuke, pull through this one…Please._

He hesitated momentarily, but Sakura knew better than to ask why. His eyes were still forward, not looking at her, as she felt his thumb run quickly over her knuckles—just once. She held in a gasp and watched as he stood up and walked clear out into the field, noticed by every guard at once. _Smart thinking, get everyone's attention at once. _Immediately, Sakura saw their eyes glaze slightly, and one by one, they fell to the ground, asleep. He turned to her and lifted his arm to point somewhere off to her right, signaling where the entrance was. She didn't ask him what he was going to do; she figured he would follow in after her. Nodding, she wiped a stray tear that had made its way down her face, and took off running.

_Hold on, Sasuke. I'm going to save you this time._

-

Itachi watched her go, ignoring the small pang of jealousy he felt as she rushed to risk her life for his younger brother.

He didn't have time to dwell on the feeling—the uncertainty he felt —as he heard a kunai whizzing through the air, speeding in the direction of his head.

XXXXX

Forcing the air into her lungs made her feel as though her throat was on fire. Completely ignoring the fact that her heart was probably beating too fast to be healthy, she pushed herself through the door. Her legs were screaming in protest, but it was nothing compared to the pain in her heart.

_It's too late._

"No!" She said out loud, unconsciously on her part. She was going to save him.

Ignoring the chills of recognition that flitted through her body, she tried not to pay attention to the dirty, dank rooms around her—the rooms she had searched the last time she looked for him. Coming to a sliding halt at the intersection of three hallways, Sakura closed her eyes.

—"_I fight better when I can't see," She responded, as though answering his thoughts. "It helps me hone my chakra sensing skills. It is much easier to follow someone's energy than see them."—_

Concentrating, she could feel _him _on the other side of the lair. Her head cocked slightly when she realized that he was…fighting. Who on earth was he fighting? Was it just training?

But paying attention more closely, she realized that she also felt that _snake's_ chakra. Realization dawned upon her as she felt her stomach drop.

_Orochimaru and Sasuke are fighting each other!_

Just before she took another step, another familiar chakra pattern made itself known. His chakra could not be mistaken—_heavy_ was the only way she could explain it. And he was _angry. _Whatever was happening, the person he was fighting was sure to be sorry.

And as quickly as it came, Itachi's chakra presence was gone—completely.

Whipping around to face the direction she just came, her eyes widened as she whispered urgently,

"_Itachi!_"

XXXXX

_Irritating_ would have been the perfect word to describe his current state. Yes, his eyes were feeling better, but no, they still weren't one hundred percent. When he felt the kunai coming, Itachi had dodged, but apparently not completely. There was a small cut on his left cheek, and he felt a trickle of blood fall down his face. This bastard was going to pay severely for scarring him. Letting his eyes travel quickly from his enemy, his gaze darted to the entranceway Sakura had entered not five minutes previous.

The one second his eyes left his enemy was one too many, he noted as he glanced down to the kunai sticking out of his chest.

He fell backward.

XXXXX

"Itachi!" She gasped. Her body was frozen, her gaze over her shoulder, trying desperately to find the chakra signature of her partner. Taking a breath, she looked forward once more, her mind fixated on Sasuke's flaring chakra.

_Sasuke!_

Orochimaru was winning.

_Damn it._

Her gaze flittered back once more over her shoulder, she had to trust in the fact that Itachi was nearly indestructible.

_I'm sorry Itachi,_ she thought as she let her feet fly over the uneven stone towards the battle on the other side of the base.

_You'd better not die. I'm not losing two…_

XXXXX

His body poofed into a log before it hit the ground. Masking his chakra completely from a nearby branch, Itachi waited for more Sound-nin to arrive. He would have to gamble this time—something he did not like doing. But he needed to draw them outside first, attack second. There was a chance that one would warn Orochimaru of their presence, but if he didn't know already, then Orochimaru wasn't a very good shinobi.

And if he wasn't a good shinobi, he deserved to die in Itachi's opinion.

Itachi paused. _Orochimaru needs to die whether he is a valuable shinobi or not._

He stood from his atop his branch, his hands clenched into fists. He saw about twenty more Sound-nin exit from the base, each wearing a look a shock, some with panic mixed in.

The nin currently unconscious would be so for another hour. But right now, there were twenty more nin standing in his way.

_Snap._

It was the sound of Itachi unsnapping one of the buttons on the cloak.

_Snap._

He hand slipped to undo another.

_Snap._

He disappeared from the branch, his cloak slowly falling to the forest floor below.

He reappeared in the front of an unfortunate Sound-nin who was on their way inside to call reinforcements.

"ARGH!—"

XXXXX

She was getting closer, _closer _still. She was almost there, and could almost cry in relief when she realized that Sasuke was still alive. The sweat poured down her face, and her muscles were cramping from hours of running. But she couldn't give up now.

Certainly not when she had gotten this far.

"Sakura-san."

XXXXX

He had slit the throat of the man before he could make anymore noise. Looking over his shoulder, he sighed as realized there wasn't any other way to get this over quickly. And with thirty unconscious shinobi, and twenty more approaching him, they were all inside of his range.

Closing his right eye and making the necessary hand signals, he muttered,

"Ameratsu."

He would pay for this later.

XXXXX

She stopped and turned to see the mocking eyes of Kabuto.

"I wouldn't go that way if I were you."

"Good thing you're not me, then." _He's trying to slow me down. I have to finish this quickly. _

Kabuto chuckled quietly and pushed his glasses farther up his nose.

"There is no need to worry, Sakura-san. Orochimaru-sama won't kill Sasuke-kun."

"Spare me the bullshit, Kabuto." She spat. "Let's get this over with quickly."

He seemed to regard her for a moment, his eyes traveling down her figure, his lips curling into a smirk.

Pushing his glasses up once more, he said, "Let's."

XXXXX

It would have been foolish to deny that the screams of his victims did not please him like it used to. But Itachi was very pleased with the way his flames had engulfed everyone in a fifty-meter radius. His talents were impressive to him, even after performing the jutsu many times before…

Stepping through the flames, Itachi had to make a decision: he could either enter to the shinobi quarters and kill as many as possible, or he could go and aid Sakura with whatever trouble she had managed to find. He could feel Sasuke's chakra—he seemed to be fighting, but he was still alive.

But Sakura's chakra pattern was different. She seemed to be stopped for some reason, and the gathered chakra in her hands told him that she too was getting ready to engage in a battle.

Mentally sighing, Itachi briefly wondered who could possible be giving her trouble. Why didn't she just kill them and be done with it?

But that's when Itachi detected just how erratic her chakra was: she was nervous, and certainly not confident in this battle. But that could have been because she was eager to get to Sasuke.

Itachi's eyes widened slightly when he sensed the killing intent coming from her opponent. It was incredibly strong.

But it was also then that Itachi realized just how _terrified_ she was.

Why?

His steps confident but quick, Itachi entered the building, curious as to what he would see.

XXXXX

_I'm not going to get there in time. _

"Why are you doing this?" If this were any other time, she wouldn't have liked how desperate she sounded, but in this moment, she really didn't care.

"Doing what?" He asked, mockery laced in his voice. He dropped into a defensive position, and the anger Sakura felt magnified significantly.

If he wasn't going to answer her, then she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of speech either. Her mind was racing, trying to think of all the things she could do to get this battle over with. She couldn't punch the ground, or the entire place would collapse. While the idea seemed tempting (hopefully she could also kill Orochimaru), she couldn't know whether Sasuke would get lost under the wreckage.

_Sigh. _

While she didn't think Kabuto was necessarily skilled in ninjustu, she wasn't naïve to think that he wasn't a skilled shinobi. Fighting inside would limit the things she could do, therefore, she wasn't the most skilled shinobi either. It would be a battle between their medical skills.

"Come, Sakura-san, let's see who is the better medic-nin. As you know, I once defeated your ex-sensei Tsunade, but from what I hear, you are better than she. Hopefully you will prove a better opponent." Activating his chakra scalpels, Sakura was thankful that the lack of light allowed her to see their length. The seemed to be about eight inches long, long enough to sever her spinal cord if she got to close. _Shit, this is going to take a while._ Looking over in the direction of Sasuke's battle, she silently urged him on. _Hold him off for a little longer, Sasuke._

XXXXX

"Sasuke-kun, what are doing? Do you no longer desire power to kill your brother?"

Sasuke stood there, his face neutral, but inwardly a bit put off by the fact that he had felt Sakura's chakra just a second ago. How did she know to get him? Did the seal he gave her burn? Eyes narrowing, he wondered if she had brought Itachi with her.

_I told you once, Sakura, you won't stop me from killing him. He _will_ die. _

"I desire power," he said simply, "but from someone who can actually give it to me. You have lost your purpose."

Orochimaru laughed as Sasuke watched him. Orochimaru had only ever used this power as a last resort, but his student was proving to be a difficult opponent. Making the necessary hand seals, he transformed into a giant white snake—his true form.

Sasuke smirked. "So…this is your true form?" Instead of being impressed like Orochimaru hoped he would be, Sasuke was disgusted. Mentally calculating, Sasuke knew that he would not have chakra left to fight his brother after this battle. Activating his Chidori into the blade of his sword, he prepared to kill the one who had taken six years of his life. In retrospect, Sasuke knew that they were years he had wasted.

_I've waited years to kill you Itachi, if I have to wait a bit longer, I will._

XXXXX

Itachi was uneasy at the fact that he had not encountered any Sound-nin. It seemed strange that there were only those fifty or so shinobi at Orochimaru's entire base…

Itachi could still feel Sakura's chakra flaring, a sign that she was still engaged in battle. But her chakra had not yet moved. What was she doing?

XXXXX

Kabuto turned around quickly, thinking he heard footsteps coming down the hall. Straining his ears, he realized that the footsteps were measured and confident.

"Bitch." He snarled as he turned around, revealing a shocked Sakura. "You brought your boyfriend with you?"

She knew that he was trying to get a rise out of her, but she didn't respond, knowing his anger was directed at the fact that he didn't stand a chance against Itachi. Cursing silently, Kabuto wasted no time in charging her. Her eyes widened as she dodged his attacks. She could see that he was incredibly pissed—was he really that scared of Itachi? No, it wasn't necessarily _him_; it was that Kabuto was scared of death. He was attacking her so quickly that she didn't have time to go on the offensive. She would just have to wait until he tired out. Tsunade always told her that men were impatient…

But when Itachi appeared behind Kabuto and her eyes traveled to him, she realized her reaction time was too slow as Kabuto's scalpel met her chest.

XXXXX

The time it took for Sakura's body to hit the floor seemed like the longest moments in Itachi's life. He couldn't remember a time when he felt so—afraid wasn't the word—_terrified_ in his life. But when her body turned into a kunai, the fear was replaced with anger. Anger at her for coming here, anger at Sasuke for whatever connection he had with her, anger at Kabuto for hurting 'her', but he was mostly angry at her for scaring him like that. And he was partly angry at himself for allowing himself to care about the aforementioned things.

Itachi could feel that Kabuto was just as shocked as he was that her body was a replacement. There was a moment's pause when Kabuto seemed to be deciding his next course of action. Itachi knew that the bastard feared for his life—cowardly in Itachi's opinion—but Kabuto also needed to buy time for Orochimaru to get away. Would he be loyal to his master?

It appeared not, as Kabuto body disappeared in a wisp of smoke.

_Coward._

XXXXX

Sakura didn't know how much time she would have before Kabuto realized that was a clone. Sprinting down the hallway, she followed Sasuke's chakra, which she now felt was rapidly dwindling.

_No!_

XXXXX

Sasuke stood before Orochimaru, and before Sasuke could blink, Orochimaru's body split into thousands of tiny white snakes.

_Shit._

Not knowing if it would work, Sasuke engulfed his entire body in his Chidori current, hoping to electrocute any snake that tried to kill him. And for a while it seemed to work, as the sounds and smells of decaying flesh met his senses.

When it seemed like all the snakes were dead, Sasuke let his body relax.

But it was one second too soon.

Glancing down at the sword that was stuck trough his chest, Sasuke felt Orochimaru's body press into his back.

"The one thing you never seemed to learn Sasuke-kun," he rasped, obviously struggling for breath, "was to always watch your back."

"Hn." His teeth clenched from the pain.

"Even your Sharingan cannot see 360 degrees."

"There was always one thing you never seemed to learned, Orochimaru."

"Oh?" His tongue flickered out to slide over Sasuke's cursed seal. Sasuke refrained from recoiling in disgust.

"My brother is not as easily as manipulated as I."

Sasuke turned to look his once-teacher in the eye.

"Your plans never would have succeeded." Sasuke whispered, wishing the pain in his heart would recede.

Orochimaru's eyes widened considerably, but he did not say anything.

Orochimaru's sword turned into a snake, and Sasuke had to bite his tongue to keep from screaming in pain when the snake slithered into his body, and started moving around.

Sasuke's harsh pants of breath were momentarily drowned out by the sound of Orochimaru's body hitting the floor. Stumbling out of the blood-filled room, Sasuke tried to follow Sakura's chakra. He could tell that she was running, and she would find him in a few minutes. He knew that this was the end: he would fail to kill his brother.

But there were still so many things he needed to say…

XXXXX

He was lying there on the brown stone floor, staring at the ceiling, in a pool of his blood. She resisted the urge to vomit, swallowing hard and trying to concentrate on the task at hand.

She _needed_ to save him.

"Oh my God," she breathed, on the verge of tears, "Sasuke." Running towards him, her chest was tightening—it was the dread. He was going to die. Falling to her knees in front of him, her hands immediately went to work, trying to assess the damage.

Tears amassed in her eyes when she realized she couldn't save him. There had to be something—s_omething_ that could bring him back.

"Sakura." He let out a breath of recognition and she realized that he was relived to see her.

Her heart twisted painfully—there was so much _blood._

"Shh, Sasuke, don't—" _Don't_ what exactly she didn't know. Don't speak? Don't say goodbye? Don't die?

Ignoring the sound of teardrops on the cold floor, she was pushing so much chakra into him, that unconsciously or not, she was giving him some of her life force. No matter how many weeks she spent crying over him, cursing his attitude to the depths of hell, or how long she worried about him or wished he'd come back…she couldn't see him like this.

A cold hand grabbed hers.

"Stop."

XXXXX

Miles away, in a dark room, a woman with blue hair wearing an Akatsuki robe looked up at her orange-haired lover.

"What are you going to do?" She asked him quietly, her soft voice carrying through the darkness.

"Kill her." He said flatly, not looking up, returning to thumbing through the file that was resting on his desk.

He seemed calm, but Konan could clearly feel the fury in his chakra.

"I see," she said, not moving from her standing position. "Do you think it would be wise to perhaps keep her around for a while to see what exactly her mission is?"

"I already know what her mission is." He deadpanned.

"Oh?" She raised a brow, waiting.

Pein did not elaborate.

"No one double-crosses Akatsuki and lives to tell the tale." He spat, and she almost felt sorry for the girl—a girl she could actually tolerate.

Konan suddenly didn't like the malevolent glint in his eye.

"And I have already thought of the perfect punishment."

She couldn't ignore the way the temperature of the room dropped several degrees.

"We are going to invade Konoha." There was a note of triumph in his voice.

Konan's eyes widened.

"But we are only nine people, Pein! We cannot stand up to an entire village!" She knew that when he got angry, there was no telling what he would do. She was angry as well, but there was little point in this suicide mission.

Pein did not answer, a crazy grin breaking across his face.

"Then, I am going to make her watch her best friend be tortured to death."

**OOOOO**

**There you have it! I had fun writing this. There were many clues in this chapter; I hope you caught some!**

**Reviews make me write faster! …No seriously, they do. **

**Until next time!**

**P.S. If you have the time, I would appreciate your feedback on my one-shot, **_**Congratulations.**_** It's basically Kakashi reflecting about his time in ANBU, and how it's time for the next generation. Thanks!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Here I am again (finally)! (Word to the wise: Never take 20 credits. It will kill you.) Anyway, I was a bit surprised to see that not many people reviewed last chap. Was there something about it you didn't like?**

**I really hope you enjoy this one…it was difficult to write. **

**I don't own Naruto.**

**Enjoy!**

**OOOOO**

-

_I'm still learning things I ought to know by now…_

-

"_Stop."_

No response.

"Sakura, stop it now."

"Sasuke, I can't—" _let you die._ "Please—"

"It's alright, Sakura." His voice was shaking slightly, as though he were in pain. "It's over."

Pause.

"Nothing's changed then, eh?" _You don't want to be saved. _Taking a deep breath, she smiled sadly as she lowered her chakra filled hands, and swung her legs around to lay down next to Sasuke as close as possible, her hand grasping his. He squeezed it in return.

_You were always the one person I could never save…_

There was so much to say…but she didn't quite know how to string the words together. There were no words to express what had happened between the two. No words to explain the situation. No words to somehow make this all right.

_But even if I couldn't save you, I'll be here with you at the end._

"Why is it that you are always the one leaving me?" She whispered, her neck turning to look into his eyes.

He responded with a blink. "Can you do some things for me?"

"Anything," she whispered as he looked back at the ceiling.

"Don't let them sell the Uchiha Compound. No one should live there." His voice was quiet and the feeling of his arm trembling slightly caused her chest to tighten uncomfortably and her eyes to sting. But she nodded anyway.

"Make sure—" He paused as though saying the name was somehow difficult, "Naruto becomes Hokage… and tell him—"

Sakura waited as he took a hesitant breath.

"Tell him I'm sorry." He breathed and when she looked up at him, she saw his eyes were closed. His left eye was twitching slightly and Sakura wondered whether he was fighting the urge to cry.

"Okay." She replied, and they both heard her voice breaking. Just thinking about telling Naruto made her heart hurt even more. _He's going to be crushed..._

"Do you think they'll forgive me?" Sasuke said softly, and not knowing what he meant, Sakura wondered if his blood loss had begun to make him delusional.

"Who?" She asked quietly, her brain now registering how cold Sasuke's hand was.

"My family." He said, closing his eyes again.

"For what?" She whispered.

"…Not getting there in time."

Her mouth opened. "Is that what you think?" She asked incredulously.

He didn't move.

"There was nothing you could have done, Sasuke. Absolutely nothing and it never had anything to do with your strength level. How could you have known what It—_he_ was going to do? Stop blaming yourself for not being able to predict the future." Sakura wasn't sure if her rant had lost the connection they had, because he was silent for a long time.

"I don't know you how you do it." He finally said quietly.

"Do what?" She breathed, her eyes never leaving his face.

"Love people who are incapable of loving." There was a small twitch of his lips, and Sakura guessed he was smirking.

Sakura let out a small laugh.

"It's a gift, I guess." _Or a curse._

"Hn." He grunted, and looked over at her, ignoring the pain in his chest.

"One more thing." He whispered, all humor gone.

"…"

"Can you bury me next to my mother?" His voice was quiet, but the waver in his voice was deafening.

She tried to smile as her eyes became blurry once more, "Of course, Sasuke." She nodded. "Of course I will." She squeezed his hand and brought it to her lips.

"Why? Why aren't you mad? Don't you—hate me?" She asked timidly, wondering what he was thinking as he smirked.

"There's nothing that you can do that will ever make me hate you, Sakura." He looked over to her, and for a moment, Sakura saw the sincerity in his eyes.

She wished that she could somehow _change_—something. Anything, really. Any part of this entire situation that had been going on for years. That she could somehow go back in time and stop the massacre, kill Orochimaru, stop Akatsuki from forming, help Naruto, stop death…_something._

"Sasuke—" She began, hoping she could at least say something comforting.

_This is it._

"It's alright, Sakura, you don't have to say anything." His eyes were fixed on the ceiling as though he were thinking about something.

The truth was that part of Sasuke was angry, _livid_ even, because he knew about Sakura and Itachi. But when he was honest with himself, he knew that it really didn't have anything to do with her, he just hated everything that had to do with _him_.

However, he just couldn't bring himself to tell her that he was angry. There was also a part of him that was…happy? He was—_glad_—that she moved on. Though he severely doubted it, he hoped that Itachi might cause her less heartbreak than he did. And if he were lucky, she would cause Itachi some type of physical pain that might skim the surface of the pain he deserved…

But he still wanted her to find some happiness in this fucked up world. Because beneath all the lies, anger, grief, and self-hatred, the truth was…that he loved her.

He always had.

Perhaps not in the traditional sense of the word, but whatever the feeling was, it was enough.

His love for her was the reason why he couldn't be mad at her, it was the reason why he had to leave Konoha; his love for her was the reason why he kept going.

It was in the moment at the club those several months back that Sasuke truly understood the meaning of love. He would stop being so selfish—for her. That was why he said he would give them more time.

The truth was that he didn't want to be the cause of her heartbreak—again.

It was the last, and perhaps the _only_ thing he would ever do for her.

There they lay, on the cold concrete floor in Orochimaru's lair, hands intertwined, counting down the seconds to death. Sakura's heart, which at one point had belonged to Sasuke, now belonged to the man that Sasuke had pledged his whole life to kill. How ironic.

He needed to tell her. She deserved that much.

"Sakura—" He began, the numbness of the adrenaline stating to wear off.

"Shh. Don't speak. You'll only make it worse." Her hand squeezed his again, as though trying to implement her point.

But how much worse could he make it?

"There's something I need to tell you."

Sakura turned her head and rested her ear on the cold floor. She could feel Sasuke's blood seeping into her clothes, and it took everything in her not to wince at the feeling.

"I lied." He said simply as he continued to stare at the ceiling.

_Lied? _

She waited for him to continue.

"That night at your house…when you asked me why I did it…do you remember what I said?" The trembling of his body was more pronounced now, but he fought through it.

She nodded slowly, and asked in the form of a question, "You said that you needed to know if I was really there with you."

"That was only part of the truth." His gaze switched to hers and he smiled the closest thing to a smile she had ever seen.

He was waiting for her to put it together.

When he didn't continue his sentence, she got up onto her knees and put her head on his chest to listen to his fainting heartbeat—

**Wait. **

Sakura's eyes snapped open.

His heart wasn't beating. How—?

"—remember when you asked me what I regret?" He said softly.

He felt her nod against his chest.

"The thing that I r-regret…" He sputtered, blood leaking from the corners of his mouth.

"Shhh." Sakura said, raising her head as the tears silently fell.

_His heart isn't beating and he's speaking to me. What the hell is going on?_

"…is the way I treated you." _I'm sorry. _He finished softly as his eyes slid from her face to the ceiling above, unfocused. For a moment, he looked curious—as if he were seeing something for the first time. The emotion left as quickly as it came, and a small smirk crept onto his face. Then, his eyes stopped moving as the muscles in his face relaxed.

She put her hand on his heart, and closed her eyes.

Nothing.

"Sasuke! Wake up! Please—please don't leave me here alone." She shook him slightly and recoiled her arms when she felt how limp his body was. "Sasuke—" she choked, "—I love you, too."

She could only pray that that was the last thing he heard.

As she kneeled there, looking at his cold body, everything clicked into place.

Why he left Konoha to get stronger…

Why he pushed her away…

Why he visited her that night…

Why he didn't kill her when he found out she was with Itachi…

Why he gave them more time…

Why he gave her the seal…

Why he wasn't angry…

Why he kept asking for her forgiveness…

_She_ was the reason.

She looked down to her blood covered hands and did the only thing that she could.

She wept for him.

She bent over and laid her head on his chest.

And cried.

She cried so hard she didn't know if she'd be able to stop.

She had just lost a large part of herself—and knowing nothing would bring him back was overwhelming.

XXXXX

Itachi stood and listened to the conversation from the shadows. He was rather surprised that no one had realized he was standing there.

"_That night at your house…when you asked me why I did it…do you remember what I said?"_

Itachi's eyes flashed with irritation. What the **fuck** did that mean? He loved her? She said she loved him too… Did she love him that way? Or just as a friend?

Sakura had some serious explaining to do…

…when she was feeling better of course.

XXXXX

She didn't know how long she lay there across his body, crying so hard her throat hurt. But when she heard footsteps, she didn't look up. She knew it was _him_ from his chakra, and truth be told, there wasn't anything she wanted to say to him at the moment.

_This was his fault. This never would have happened if it weren't for him…_

But what stuck her as odd was that he didn't say anything to her. She didn't expect him to show emotion about Sasuke, but he didn't say anything cruel to her—he didn't tell her to hurry up, he didn't tell her she was weak…he just stood there, waiting, listening to her cry.

-

"What are you doing?" He finally asked a long while later when she rose from her position sprawled over his body to her knees. His bored voice seemed more strained—perhaps tired—than usual.

"Praying." She answered simply, her voice hoarse.

"Is that necessary?" It was his way of asking '_why_?'

"I'm praying for peace." Her back was still facing him.

"Yours?"

"…No."

…

…

"Let's go." He said finally, knowing if they stayed any longer, Pein would be suspicious if he wasn't already.

Sakura knew they needed to leave, and although she wanted to stay with him for a while longer, she was still on a mission. And after all, now she only had one best friend left, and she was going to protect him at all costs…

When Sakura reached up to close Sasuke's eyes, her arm froze when she realized something was amiss—

Sasuke's eyes were _green_—!

"Come, Sakura." Came Itachi's voice, and she couldn't explain the extreme surge of hate that flowed through her veins.

"…No." She said with as much venom in her voice as she could muster.

Itachi was not surprised by her answer.

"…No?" He challenged.

"No. I'm not going anywhere will _you_." The disgust in her voice could not be mistaken, and Itachi almost sighed. He had a feeling something like this would happen.

"Do not blame his foolishness on me." He said, and Sakura was furious that he didn't even seem sad, angry, or…anything.

…But now was not the time. They would have this discussion, she would make sure of it, but she had more pressing problems right now—such as what to do with his body. And why his eyes were completely the wrong color.

Raising her slightly shaking hands, she resumed healing him. He deserved a burial, at least, but it would have to be done with Tsunade's knowledge—she was not going to let a missing-nin be buried within Konoha's walls.

She'd have to do it herself.

"I'm not going to leave him here." She spat, as if it were the most obvious thing in existence.

"If you leave, Pein will be angry." He replied, sounding irritated with the entire situation.

She scoffed. "I don't really give a shit."

He didn't respond.

A few moments later, he heard her sigh as she pushed off her knees to stand up.

"Someone's got to take him back to Konoha." She sounded so _emotionally_ drained—so, lost, maybe. Itachi couldn't put a finger on it.

"…Hn."

He heard her chuckle quietly, though he didn't know why. He looked over her shoulder and save for the massive amounts of blood on his clothes, Sasuke's body looked healthy. She had healed him post-mortem.

So then where would she bury him?

"I do not expect _you_ to come, after all." There was sarcasm in her voice, and Itachi knew she was challenging him. No, he would not come, but it seemed as though she said that because she _wanted_ him to come.

She wanted him to prove her wrong.

But he wouldn't—because then she might take it as something more than it actually was. Whatever _this_ was between them, they both knew it was going to be short-lived. So there was no use in giving her a false sense of hope.

So he didn't answer.

Sighing once more, Sakura walked around Sasuke's body, and for the first time in a long time Itachi got to see her face. He could see the tears still freely sliding down her reddened cheeks, and he could see the way she was shivering. But there was something else in her body language that almost made him feel—sorry for her, if it were possible. When she had bent down one more time, she closed her eyes for a while and opened them with a faint flicker of hope on her face. But when she saw Sasuke, her eyes glistened again.

He knew what she was doing, and it almost made him _feel_ for her, because he had wished for the same thing many times before. And he could distinctly remember what it felt like…

He remembered what it was like to wish it were all a dream.

**OOOOO**

**Sasuke is gone! I'm sorry Sasuke fans…but this was needed. Why? Because his death will affect more than you think…**

**I hope Sasuke wasn't terribly OOC. I'm not sure if you believe me, but I did try to keep him IC. But then again, is anyone really the same when they are dying? At least, that's my rationalization lol. **

**If you have time, I would appreciate it if you checked out my new story **_**Defense Mechanism.**_

**-**

**Because the next chapter is my favorite of this story, I decided to give you a preview:**

_-_

"_Sakura-chan? What are you doing here?"_

_-_

"_You know what, Itachi? I'll talk to you however the __**fuck**__ I want to." _

_-_

"_There are not many who would sacrifice their life for a memory."_

_-_

**You should be excited for the long awaited confrontation! **

**Until next time!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Looks left…looks right…where the hell did all my reviewers go? (Whistles) Come out, come out, wherever you are!**

**I don't own Naruto. Enjoy!**

**OOOOO**

Bending over Sasuke, Sakura reached up to brush away his hair from his face. She had to take him back to Konoha, but how would she do it without Pein asking questions? She wouldn't dare ask Itachi to cover for her, knowing he wouldn't anyway, so she'd have to travel through the night. Hopefully she'd get there sometime before morning, and make it back by the afternoon. If he called to her, she'd have to have a damn good excuse, but she'd worry about it when the time came. Right now, she had a bigger responsibility.

Honoring Sasuke's last wish.

She glanced up at Itachi, and noticed he had a strange expression on his face. It was almost one of…pain. Or as pained as he could look. But it spoke volumes to Sakura. She didn't know what was bothering him, but it didn't matter. The fact that he was openly showing emotion that wasn't indifference or anger was quite telling. He caught her gaze and held it—and it was then that she noticed his eyes were onyx—and also unfortunately breathtaking in the lighting. She quickly averted her gaze from his, not wanting to be reminded of Sasuke's eyes.

"Sakura." Itachi said quietly, and she thought she heard a question in his tone. He wanted her to look at him.

So she shook her head slightly.

"I need to go." She said, her voice hoarse.

"Hn." She took to mean _I understand._

She shakily stood up, paused for a moment, and started unbuttoning her cloak. She'd have a hard enough time getting into Konoha without having the cloak on.

Shaking her shoulders slightly, she removed the cloak and held it for a moment, apparently in thought. Her fingers brushed over the fabric slightly, and she watched as it dropped to the ground.

_Tell Naruto I'm sorry. _

She crouched back down, and slid one hand under Sasuke's knees and the other behind his back, trying desperately to ignore the feel of his blood on her fingers.

_Make sure he becomes Hokage._

Sakura felt familiar liquid rise to her eyes. _He wanted Naruto to complete his dreams…because he couldn't._

Using some chakra, she lifted him as she stood up. Her eyes moved to the door, ignoring Itachi completely.

_I don't know how you do it._

…_Do what?_

_Love people who are incapable of loving. _

Smiling slightly, she made her way to the door.

"Sakura." Itachi said, and his tone betrayed nothing this time.

She stopped, her back to him.

"What?" She bit out, having no desire to stay here for one more moment.

She knew he didn't like speaking to her back, but she didn't turn. The tension in the air was tangible, but when he didn't answer she walked out the door.

_Could you bury me next to my mother?_

Without a hand to spare, she let the tears fall freely.

XXXXX

Itachi's eyes followed a black head of hair as Sakura walked out.

He couldn't help the overwhelming sense of loss that raced through his chest. Itachi wasn't sure if it was due to the fact that his brother just died, or the fact that the purpose of his entire life was currently on his way to Konoha to be buried.

_(Maybe it was both)_

Sasuke was foolish. Coming to get help from Orochimaru was bound to end in disaster. Leaving the village was the wrong choice from the beginning. He had loyal friends, and yet he still chose the path of revenge. Shaking his head slightly, Itachi pinched the bridge of his nose to try and soothe his oncoming headache.

_Foolish_

Walking over, he bent down and picked up Sakura's cloak. The feeling of his brother's blood on the fabric made Itachi drop the fabric without second thought. He slowly held his palms out in front of him, and stared at the blood on his hands—his brother's blood. Lips curling slightly, he smirked at the symbolism. Ever since that day, Itachi wanted _his _blood to be on Sasuke's hands; not the other way around. But not the first time, Itachi realized that irony was cruel.

Lowering his hands and looking back down at her cloak, a thought passed through his mind that almost seemed planted. It was a strange thought—one that Itachi was sure he didn't come up with himself. Maybe…maybe this _thing_ between he and Sakura was somehow supposed to give him some sort of atonement. He was never one to believe that things were planned out by some higher being…but it just seemed more than coincidence that Sakura happened to enter Akatsuki the exact week Itachi seriously contemplated leaving the organization. Whether he really would have left, he didn't know—but when Sakura joined, there was something about her that made him want to stay—or maybe...want to rethink his plans.

And then she _happens_ to be somehow involved with his younger brother, who _happened_ to have given her some sort of seal that connected them both. And then she joins an organization in which Itachi is a part of, and she gets involved with the man who her best friend had pledged to kill… It just seemed like things were all connected.

For the first time in his life, Sakura made him question that maybe things _do_ happen for a reason. Shaking his head slightly, there was part of him that didn't like how much Sakura made him question his decisions.

But looking back at the cloak, there was a part of Itachi that could admit that he didn't mind her presence in his life. She had accepted him—it had taken time of course, but she had come to some sort of acceptance of the way he was. She didn't know the truth of course, but he couldn't tell her yet. But maybe this was his true path all along.

And if that were true, then Itachi still had a purpose in life, still had things he needed to accomplish.

His black eyes traveled back to the open doorway. He told Sakura that he wouldn't go with her, but that didn't mean he wouldn't go by himself…

After all, if he couldn't be present in Sasuke's life, he'd make it to his burial.

XXXXX

Traveling through the dark forest, crying, and trying to hold a corpse in one's hands was not an easy task.

Especially when the corpse is your best friend.

Sakura was thankful that her feet knew where to go, because her mind was unable to absorb anymore information. Her brain was trying to process that he was dead, that she wanted Itachi to suffer the amount of pain Sasuke did, how empty she felt, and how on earth _she was going to tell Naruto._

As she flew through the night, she realized there were no more tears left in her eyes. They hurt though, from overuse, and her throat was dry no matter how many times she swallowed. But it was nothing compared to the way her entire body hurt—every bone, every muscle felt like lead. She knew it wasn't from the running or the extra weight—she had done it before—but it was almost as though she was starting to overload. There were only so many emotions one could feel at a time, and she guessed this was her limit, because on top of feeling like she'd been hit by a truck, she was emotionally exhausted—especially when she saw the gates of her village in the distance. It had been over a year since she had set foot in that place—and to be honest, going back felt like some sort of betrayal. Obviously she wasn't _really_ a missing-nin, but there was a betrayal in her heart that would never be erased as long as she was living.

She had fallen for a man who had murdered his entire clan, who had committed countless other crimes, was wanted in almost every country, ruined his brother's life and then drove him to betray Konoha in search of power from yet _another_ missing Konoha-nin.

Scoffing, she realized the irony of the situation. Her she was, loved by the village, loyal enough to be entrusted with what was arguably the most important mission in a decade, and her stupid heart had betrayed her.

…But what was odd was that even though this may have been her mission, she felt like _there was something she was missing. _Not necessarily in the sense that she was missing a vital piece of information, but in the sense that there was something else for her to complete in life…almost as though previous missions and saving lives were just to keep her busy until her _life's mission _was presented to her.

And she couldn't help but be suspicious that it had _something_ to do with Itachi.

Maybe…just maybe that was the entire point of this situation. She had believed that it was her duty to save Sasuke, but was it possible that he was meant to die? Was it possible that there was nothing she could have done? Was it just his 'time'? But then, that would mean…that maybe her importance in life lay with the _other Uchiha_.

Sakura laughed out loud and lowered Sasuke gently onto the branch below them. Standing upright, she put her hands on her hips, her head shaking slightly.

The mere idea that her purpose in life had something to do with Itachi was laughable. Tsunade probably only gave her this mission because whoever was her first choice was already on a mission. Tsunade probably did it on a whim…

_You know that's not true. Tsunade knew you were the best candidate so she gave the mission to you._ A voice in her head said.

Perhaps that was true…but the idea was still ludicrous.

...Except for the fact that everything that had happened in the past twelve years had put her in this current position. It was quite funny, actually, because if she really thought about it, most of her life was based off of somebody else's decisions. It was Itachi's decision to massacre his clan, Sasuke's choice to leave, Itachi's choice to join Akatsuki, Pein's decision to collect Jinchuurikis, and Tsunade's choice to send Sakura on this mission…

But again, everything came back to Itachi and _that _night.

Just how different would things be if he hadn't killed them?

The wind that blew through the trees caused her thoughts to snap back to the present. Bending down, she picked Sasuke up to bring him to his final resting place—inside the walls of the place Sakura knew Sasuke never stood the chance of forgetting.

XXXXX

It began to rain.

Sakura's grip on Sasuke tightened as her legs coiled to spring. Pushing chakra into her legs, Sakura scaled the wall, hoping the rain and darkness was enough to remain unseen.

Sakura didn't know if Naruto or Kakashi would be able to sense her chakra, but she decided that perhaps their company would be a nice change, so she didn't mask her signature.

Looking ahead through the dense sheet of rain, Sakura could make out the gates leading into the Uchiha Compound. She had never been inside before, and to be perfectly honest, today wasn't exactly the best day to go take a tour. But wanting to keep her word, Sakura jumped the gate and kept her head down as she walked through what was once a thriving community, and now…it was a ghost town. Her body was shaking slightly from strain, stress and fatigue, but she pushed on, hoping the Uchiha cemetery would be on the outskirts somewhere.

Trying to ignore the chill in the night, it didn't take Sakura long to find the cemetery. It was off to the east, she noticed, on the perimeter of the village. Walking through the mud Sakura came to the edge of the cemetery, lined with a black wrought iron gate. She noticed that these gates were not locked, so she turned around and pushed the gates open with her back. It was eerily silent as she made her way through the graves, and she couldn't help the pang of remorse when she passed through a section of graves that all had the same death date. This must have been the section for the victims of the massacre.

Over in the far corner of the site, there were two graves that stood out from the rest. They were surrounding by large bushes of lavender flowers which Sakura recognized as butterfly bushes. From the formation of the graves, Sakura could tell that they were the last two to be buried. Were they the last two Itachi killed? Were they the hardest for him to kill?

Sakura placed Sasuke on the ground, and knelt down beside him. Her eyes were wet again, perhaps due to the rain, but perhaps because she realized that all these people were in here because of one man.

The man she loved.

"Sakura?" Her eyes widened when she recognized Kakashi's voice.

She didn't know what she would say to them, not having time to prepare her story. But she stood to face them, and they were wearing identical masks of shock.

Naruto stepped forward. "Sakura-chan? What are you doing here?"

"Naruto. Kakashi-sensei." She sounded awful as she tried to smile, and she figured that she looked just as bad.

"Sakura-chan. What are you—" What she could see of him through the pouring rain looked shocked, his eyes trained on the body behind her.

"Is that—" He made to step forward, but Kakashi held him back. He held her gaze for a moment and she nodded sadly, biting her lip. She could see him his shoulders raise in a sigh, and his lone eye fell to the boy behind her.

"Naruto," she croaked, "I'm so sorry, there was nothing I could do." And she stumbled forward as the words left her mouth, wanting nothing more than his forgiveness. "I was too late. He fought Orochimaru, and by the time I got there, he had lost too much blood. I couldn't—there wasn't anything—I'm not Tsunade-shishou—" And she collapsed into Naruto's outstretched arms.

He was just as stiff as she thought he would be, but some of the tension left his body when she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Don't be ridiculous, Sakura-chan," he whispered into her hair, "you're better than Baa-chan, even she says so. If there was nothing you could have done, then there isn't anyone in the world who could have anything, either."

"What happened?" Kakashi asked from somewhere in front of her, and Sakura heard a ping of metal on metal.

Naruto let go of her, and as she turned around, she gasped slightly when she saw Kakashi's hand grasping a shovel.

"They kept it in the same place," he said, the familiar crinkle of his eye was not in place as he pointed noncommittally over his shoulder.

"He fought Orochimaru for some reason," Sakura began, "I don't know why, but when I got there, Orochimaru was gone and Sasuke was lying on the ground."

"Orochimaru was gone?" Kakashi asked as he started to dig up the earth.

"No! Not there. There." Sakura said, pointing to a spot next to the grave marked _Uchiha Mikoto. A woman who's smile lit up the world. A woman who's kindness was seen by all. You will be missed._

Kakashi paused to look at where she was pointing. She knew he wanted to ask, but he didn't. "Okay."

"Yes, Orochimaru was gone." She began after a pause. "But the air smelled like burnt flesh, so I think Sasuke used Chidori on him. But I didn't have time to check. I have to be back as soon as possible."

"Ah." Kakashi agreed, knowing the leader of Akatsuki wouldn't be pleased if he knew where she was.

"Why were you there, Sakura-chan?" Naruto spoke for the first time in a few minutes. She turned around, but Naruto's eyes were still trained on the body behind her. She knew they deserved the truth, but she didn't have time to explain everything to them.

"Uchiha Itachi is my partner." She didn't miss the slight tinge of red that flashed in Naruto's eyes before they become blue once more. "He and I were passing through Sound on a mission, and I felt Sasuke's chakra. It was strong and angry, so I was able to convince Itachi that Sasuke could be in trouble, so I went to check."

"He cared? I find that hard to believe." Naruto scoffed, resentment in his voice.

"I didn't really give him a choice." Sakura said without thinking. Too busy looking at the ground, she missed the look that was passed from Kakashi to Naruto.

"Does he usually listen to you?" Naruto asked, his mouth slightly open, betraying his shock.

Sakura shrugged. "Sometimes."

After a few awkward moments of silence, Kakashi straightened, having finished digging Sasuke's grave.

"Should we—maybe we should put him in something like a—" Naruto swallowed, "coffin?"

"Where do you propose we get one at this hour?" She hadn't meant for it to come out that way, but the damage was already done.

"Sakura." Kakashi's voice held a warning.

She sighed, not meeting Naruto's eyes in fear of what she would see. "Sorry." She mumbled.

"You're right. It was a stupid question...I just—I've never done this before." He said quietly. "And I want to do this right."

The guilt settled into her stomach as she moved forward to grasp his hand. "I'm sorry, Naruto, I'm just—tired." _Of all of this. _"I want to do this right too."

It was Kakashi's turn to sigh. "Unfortunately, there's nothing we can really do about it."

There was a long pause between the three of them until Kakashi said, "Come here."

As they stepped around Sasuke, Kakashi grabbed Sasuke's ankles and Naruto grabbed his hands. "On three, lower him down, Naruto." Kakashi said, his voice sounding increasingly pained as the moments passed.

"One, two, three."

Sakura watched from next to the grave as Sasuke's body was lowered into his final resting place.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked when he finally stood up, his eyes still trained on Sasuke's face.

"Yeah?" She asked, her voice breaking and her eyes tearing over at the sight.

"Did you—heal him after—?" He was fighting to keep his voice steady.

"Yeah." She breathed, her lips beginning to quiver.

"Good." He whispered, tears beginning to drip down his face. "Good."

The silence that passed through them was long. Sakura didn't know what they were thinking, but she could guess. Kakashi was probably feeling guilty about all of Sasuke's decisions, and Naruto was probably feeling the same thing she was; a part of them was missing now, they'd never see him smirk again, never hear him say "Hn", never hear him insult them, and never see him walking down the streets with his hands stuffed into his pockets.

He was dead, along with his hopes and dreams, his memories and his soul.

Kakashi began to fill the grave.

...

"What did you mean when you said they 'kept it in the same place'?" Naruto asked after a long silence.

Kakashi's gaze was one of pain. "I helped with the burial of the Uchihas last time."

And they were plunged into silence once more.

...

"Tsunade-sama won't have his name carved into the memorial stone." It was Sakura who broke the silence this time, fearing that Tsunade wouldn't honor the part of Sasuke's life that was dedicated to the village.

Naruto was silent for a long while. "…Baa-chan might not, but I will."

And she was satisfied, knowing Naruto would keep his word.

...

So there they stood, the remaining members of Team Seven, each pair of eyes focused on the freshly upturned earth, the cold rain pelting their frozen skin. The only ones present at his burial were the ones Sasuke let into his life after the tragedy; the people with whom he vowed to sever his bonds, knowing full well he would never succeed.

Those present were the only ones Sasuke ever cared about.

All except one.

...

"I need to go." Sakura said when the sun started to rise. "If Pein finds out..."

Kakashi nodded. "You're right." He said, somewhat sadly, "I'm glad you're okay, Sakura." And his lone eye crinkled.

"Thanks, Kakashi-sensei. Take care of everyone for me." She smiled sadly, wanting to stall saying goodbye to Naruto.

"Of course." He walked forward and put his hand on her shoulder. "You've made us proud." He said, and Sakura knew he really meant it.

She gave him a smile, threw caution to the wind, and hugged him hard. His audible exhalation told her he smiled.

When she let go of him, he said "Good luck" and disappeared with a puff of smoke.

"You should get back, Sakura-chan," Naruto's voice wavered, "Kakashi-sensei is right, if you get caught..."

She turned. "I'll be fine." She said with as much conviction as she could muster.

There was a slight silence between them in which Naruto's lip quivered slightly and Sakura's eyes began to tear.

"Sakura-chan—" Sakura threw her arms around his neck before he could finish.

"I've have so much to tell you Naruto—"

"It's okay. I'll see you soon." He whispered into her hair, "Promise me I'll see you soon."

She nodded against his shoulder. "As soon as I can. Be safe." She said, hoping with all her might that when the time came, she'd really be able to stop Akatsuki. She hoped she was strong enough... But when she saw the expression on Naruto's face when he pulled away... when she saw how much he loved her like a sister, she knew that when the time came, she'd make the right choice.

Because in the end, she knew she'd die for Naruto.

"Good luck," he said, gave Sasuke's grave one last look, and turned around to walk away.

Knowing she needed to return quickly, she turned around to say her last goodbye.

"I may not have agreed with everything you did," she whispered, "but you were a good man." She walked up to the freshly upturned dirt, and knelt down, grasping some of the dirt in her fingers.

"There are not many who would sacrifice their life for a memory." And even though she hated him for leaving them behind, she knew that those were the only correct words that could describe his life. Because in reality, he gave up his whole life not only to give himself peace, but give the ones he loved some sort of justice. And while she didn't agree with his actions, his intentions were good.

But like many people, Sasuke got lost along his path.

Hoping one last time that wherever he was, he was safe, she stood to leave. Something red in the forest caught her eye, and she paused. She could have sworn there was a pair of red eyes watching her in the darkness, but when she blinked, they were gone.

XXXXX

When she returned to base, she was exhausted. She had used almost three-quarters of her chakra, needing to trasport herself over long distances in order to return before questions were asked.

So when she walked into her room and saw Itachi sitting on her bed, waiting, she was angry and confused at the same time.

"Is there something you need, Itachi?" Sakura asked tonelessly as she removed her soaking wet shirt.

He did not answer.

_We need to talk about this_.

"I want to know why." He said coldly after a long silence.

"'Why'?" She scoffed, just as coldly, her back facing him as she pulled a long sleeve black shirt over her wet head.

She received no reply as she pulled on pair of dry pants.

"What do you want?" She asked, her voice betraying her exhaustion. She was done with pleasantries.

_Why won't you look at me?_

"Hn."

She laughed sarcastically.

"How did I know that would be your answer?" She said resentfully.

There was a long pause, as there usually was when dealing with him.

"If you wish for me to apologize, I will not do so." He said it so flatly, as if that one sentence should be able to erase everything that happened.

At this, anger flowed through her like she had never experienced before. She turned around to look him in the for the first time, and saw surprise flash across Itachi's face before becoming emotionless once more.

"Well what a **fucking** surprise that is!" She shouted sarcastically. Throwing her hands in the air, she continued her rant. "Why would I ever think that the Uchiha '_Jesus fucking Christ'_ Itachi would ever apologize to anyone?"

She was breathing heavily now, and Itachi could tell from the paleness of her skin that she was exhausted. Ignoring his concern for her health, he said nothing, instead choosing to listen to her impersonate him.

"Oh! Did I just kill your father? Oh, and your mother, too? Well, what do you know? I just killed your whole fucking family!" She was yelling loudly now, walking around the room not looking at him.

Itachi stood up, and if Sakura had been paying attention, she would have seen how his jaw and fists were clenched.

"Excuse me?" She started sarcastically. "Did you just say that I killed everyone you ever knew? Yes, I know that you will live a miserable life…and I don't give a shit. Yes, you're my brother…but that family," She clicked her tongue, "what a pesky little nuisance."

"Sakura. Stop it." He said, and even though she could hear the anger in his voice, she continued.

"Why did I do it, you ask? Well, because I woke up this morning and I said to myself… instead of training, I think I'll kill my family today!"

She mocked happiness although there were tears streaming down her face, and clasped her hands together.

"Yes! What a great _fucking _idea—!"

Before she saw him move, he threw her against the wall and put his hand over her mouth. He couldn't describe the feeling of uneasiness that came over him when he saw the terror pass through her eyes. He tried to feel pleasure knowing he could scare her so easily, but the look on her face just made him feel uncomfortable for some reason. Bringing his face next to her ear, he said dangerously,

"Shut…up."

Breathing heavily, Sakura refused to respond.

Once the feeling of her tears running over his hands became increasingly uncomfortable, he let go of her.

"When you are ready to have a mature conversation, we can discuss your anger towards me." Walking over towards the window, he looked out at the morning sun.

Still breathing heavily, she didn't move from the wall. Pinning her eyes to a spot on the far wall, she tried to put into "mature" words what exactly she was mad at.

It took a while, but she eventually came up with an answer: _everything_.

"I just…" she began more weakly than intended, "I just can't do this anymore."

"Hn." _What?_

"Pretend like everything's okay." She said truthfully.

"Aa."

…

"I can't forgive you for what you did to him."

Sakura didn't see the way his hands gripped the windowsill harder than necessary.

"I don't care about your forgiveness." He said coldly.

She laughed softly. "…Maybe."

He turned to look at her.

"You know nothing about me, Sakura." He said, some anger making itself known in his tone.

She closed her eyes and continued as though he had not spoken.

"And that's part of the problem." She whispered. "That's why you keep pushing me away."

...

"I don't understand you, Itachi…not at all. I don't know if I ever will..."

Not moving from his spot in front of the window, he continued to look at her.

"I didn't expect this either, Itachi. And I'm just as afraid of this as you are."

His eyes narrowed.

"I do not fear anything." He said coldly.

Sakura snorted. "Of course not."

"If you think I am going to sit here and listen to your mockery, you are incorrect."

Sakura sighed, "I'm not trying to mock you."

"What are you doing, then?"

"I want you to take responsibility for your actions!" She said, her voice starting to get louder.

"…" He only continued to stare at her with a blank expression.

"How could you not feel _anything_ for your dead brother?" She yelled. "He just fucking _died_ because he was trying to—"

"It was his choice to go to Orochimaru."

Sakura stared back, open-mouthed.

"Yes, but still—he's dead!"

Itachi's expression did not change.

Neither did Sakura's.

"Are you expecting me to say something?" He asked, monotone.

"You are fucking unbelievable!" She yelled, throwing up her hands, resuming her pacing. The anger she felt at him could not be described into words. She felt like—Sasuke's entire life had been a waste.

How could she have feelings for such a disgusting excuse for a human being?

"I don't know…" she whispered.

"Hn."

"Don't you dare 'hn' me!" She yelled. Suddenly, he disappeared, and Sakura didn't have enough time to brace for impact when she hit the wall.

"I advise you to not speak to me in such a way." His voice was barely controlled, and Sakura knew she was treading in dangerous territory at this point. She knew he was probably having great difficulty not snapping her neck.

But for some reason, she knew he would never go that far.

_(And her trust in him continued to scare her.)_

She could feel the weight of his stare on her, but she continued to stare over his shoulder.

"You know what, Itachi?" She started sarcastically. She felt his grip on the front of her shirt tighten, as though he knew what her next sentence would be.

"I'll talk to you however the **fuck** I want to."

In an uncharacteristic display of anger, Itachi pulled her forward and slammed her into the wall again. It was only when he heard the crash of glass, did he realize that she switched herself with the nearest object, which happened to be the bed lamp.

Without turning around, he heard her rummaging through her stuff and grabbing her pack from the closet.

"I'm going to ask you a question, Itachi." She said seriously without looking up. "And keep in mind that your answer will affect both of us…" _Not that you care_…

He still did not turn around.

"And I'm only going to ask you once."

Still rummaging through her stuff…and still no answer.

"Do you care about me in any way?"

Although she didn't see it, Itachi's eyes widened slightly.

She ceased her movements.

…

…

"What do you expect me to say?" He said to the wall, emotionlessly. _You know I won't admit anything, Sakura._

He did not see her sad smile.

"Ah. Just as I thought."

He turned around to see her throwing clothes into her bag.

"Where are you going?" He asked flatly.

"I can't stay here right now." She said truthfully, knowing she couldn't realistically go too far.

"Stop being childish."

She snorted. "If you want to see someone being childish, look into a mirror."

His eyes narrowed as he watched her finish packing, ignoring the small voice in his head that told him he should say something to make her stay.

Heading for the door, she looked at him once more and sighed.

"You are weak." He said plainly. _And so am I__. _

Sakura almost smiled.

"I can live with that." And continued to make her way to the door.

_But I can't, Sakura. _

…

Her hand was on the doorknob when she heard,

"You think he deserved to kill me?" And if his tone could have been a color, it would have been silver, for the steel in his tone made her hair stand on end.

…

…

…

"He deserved to try."

**OOOOO**

**Whew that was the longest chapter I have ever written in my life! (6, 550 words) I don't understand why in all the fics I read, Sakura is so afraid of telling Itachi off. Yeah, yeah he could kill her in a second…blah blah. But we all know that he wouldn't. (smiles) I hope that lived up to your expectations!**

**Next chapter: A continuation of the talk and some **_**interesting**_** revelations… and some more ItaSaku!**

**Some questions that have come up:**

**1.) Why the hell are Sasuke's eyes green?**

Good question. But I can't tell you…yet. But I'll give you a hint: it has to do with the fact that his heart wasn't beating. Can you think of anything that would cause his heart to not beat and his eyes to change color after death?

**2.) Did Sasuke miraculously give Sakura the Sharingan? Are you kidding me?**

Lol, this was my personal favorite. If that happens, you have permission to shoot me. No, Sasuke did not give Sakura the Sharingan.

**3.) Did Itachi take Sasuke's Sharingan?**

Nope.

**4.) Will this story end in tragedy?**

Not this one. But there will most definitely be a more exciting, faster-paced sequel. Whether _that_ one will end in tragedy is the question…

**5.) Is there going to be an ItaSaku lemon in this story?**

Ah. Finally. I've been waiting for someone to ask me this since chapter 1. And the answer is no, not in this story. It will _probably_ be in the next installment. And there is a method to my madness. My goals for this story were: to introduce Sakura into Akatsuki, to introduce Sakura's relationship with Itachi, to set the stage for the next installment (which actually has a plot…), and to show Sakura's continual growth and maturity. I'm not sure if you have noticed, but the earlier chapters show Sakura concentrating on trivial things: the club/dancing/mission scene/giving Deidara a "lap dance". As the story progresses, I've tried to show her being a bit more mature: Apologizing to Deidara/her mission to Mist/Honoring Sasuke's wish/Saving Sasori, etc. You might not have picked it up, but I hope you'll notice if you go back and read through the chapters.

Thank you for your questions! Keep them coming!

-

**I'm not sure if anyone saw in my profile that my original plan was to put this story on hiatus, but I decided to finish this story before I go to France for 6 months… so there are about 4 chapters left, meaning this story will be concluded by January. **

**Until next time.**

**P.S. Does anyone else hate the new ff layout? Why doesn't it show the total amount of hits anymore? Sigh...**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter fourteen already… whew. Where does the time go? I can't believe I've been writing this for almost a year already. I look forward to hearing about what you think of this chapter, because this is the biggest hint I've given so far as to why my Itachi killed the clan. I've never seen this done before, but I hope someone guesses correctly!**

**I don't own Naruto.**

**Enjoy.**

_December 20th edit: I changed the last scene. I was originally going to put it in the next chapter, but it fits better in this one. Enjoy!_

**OOOOO**

_Seventeen Years Prior_

_Village of Konoha_

_Uchiha Compound_

_-_

"_You're too different, Itachi." My father said as he stood in front of me, his eyes hard and stern. As the words left his mouth, it was hard to describe the amount of raw anger that surged through my veins. _

_I was tired of being different. _

_I stood up a bit straighter, but at six years old I was still far shorter than my father. "Too different?" I questioned, a tint of anger audible in my tone. _

_My father's eyes narrowed at my rudeness, but I didn't care. He had just come out of one of the clan meetings, and I knew from the look in his eye that a decision had finally been made. _

_And I was disgusted…because the look in my father's eye was excitement—when it should have been revulsion. And it was in this moment that I realized—_

"_It's for the good of the clan." He said simply, as if the clan somehow was better off with the fate they had just burdened Sasuke with._

—_I realized just how corrupt the clan was._

_They would sacrifice my brother for the village? _

_He was only a year old, I thought, restraining myself from shaking my head. _

_It took every fiber of my being not to strangle my father with my hands in broad daylight. I wouldn't have succeed anyway, being that my father was much stronger than I—but the disappointment I felt in my own parents was enough to make me sick. _

"_Use me instead." I said, my voice shaking with uncontrollable rage. _

_Had my mother agreed to this?_

"_You know I can't do that. You are the future of the Uchiha name." I could see that my father was rapidly losing his patience. _

"_So you would sacrifice your youngest son to a burdened life simply because you're too much of a coward to stand up for your own family?" I asked, never raising my tone. _

_But I could see that I wasn't going to get through with words. _

_I looked into my father's eyes and saw no ounce of remorse or hesitation in his gaze. He _wanted_ to do this._

"_Sasuke will suffer for the rest of his life." I said to him, wondering how on earth he wanted to do this to his newborn son._

"_Perhaps." He said, and if there was any doubt in my mind, that word erased it all. _

_It was that word that sealed the fate of the Uchiha. _

_From that moment on, I would keep a closer eye on my father. I would grow up in a way that would make outsiders believe I was an emotionless killing machine—let them believe they had won. _

_I didn't need the Sharingan to be able to see through their lies. _

_From now on, my mission was to observe. _

XXXXX

Itachi watched from his place behind the fence of the cemetery as Sakura jumped into the trees. Taking a step forward, his eyes immediately landed on the freshly upturned soil.

_Sasuke_

Itachi's hand rested on top of the iron in preparation to jump over it, but he hesitated entering. He knew his hesitation was foolish because he _didn't _regret killing them, but the knowledge that most of these people were dead because of him was slightly unnerving.

_93…94…95…107_

107 people were buried here because of him.

108 including Sasuke.

Itachi removed his hand from the fence, placing it inside his wet cloak. The dampness annoyed him because he had never liked the rain, but in this moment, he was eternally grateful for it. With the raindrops hitting his face, he would not have to lie to himself and say he wasn't crying.

Because he honestly couldn't tell.

For once in his life, it wasn't pride that was getting in his way. He didn't care if there was anyone around to see him—it was the fact that he had to admit to himself that he wondered every day for ten years whether or not he made the right choice.

He didn't want to admit the truth.

He missed them.

He missed his best friend.

When he closed his eyes, he knew he felt it that time—a tear blink out of his eye.

Maybe he was crying because he finally realized that everything he had ever done had been for nothing: Sasuke, the massacre, joining Akatsuki—it seemed like no matter what he did, even he was not strong enough to fight fate.

He suddenly realized why he didn't want to set foot inside. It wasn't because he _might_ have regretted killing them…perhaps it was that he regretted the fact he couldn't change it. All those years ago, he couldn't save his mother, his aunt or uncle; he couldn't save Sasuke the heartache, just as he couldn't save him yesterday.

But what bothered him the most wasn't the burden on his shoulders. No, what was the most bothersome was that he regretted that Sasuke had grown up without a family.

Even though he had never said it aloud before, Itachi spoke the closest thing to regret he had ever uttered.

"It should have been me."

XXXXX

_Ten Years prior_

_Village of Konoha_

_Uchiha Compound_

_-_

"_Itachi. I have your next mission." My father called to me, and he almost sounded excited about something. _

"_Why did Hokage-sama not speak to me about it himself?" I asked, getting the feeling there was something that my father wasn't telling me._

"_I need you to do this in the name of Uchiha."_

_I looked down at the opened scroll and could not stop my eyes from widening. _

_The Uchiha elders wanted me to assassinate the Sandaime and kidnap the Kyuubi container?_

_Why?_

_In the seconds it took me to reread that sentence, I tried to think of all the possibilities to correct this situation. I would never assassinate the Hokage, and I certainly wasn't going to kidnap the Kyuubi container… But I needed something to get me out of this. _

"_The Kyuubi container? Why?" I asked, uncharacteristically, because it was known that Uchiha Itachi never questioned orders. _

"_For the extraction of course." He said as if I were an idiot. "And the Hokage can know nothing about it."_

"_Why do you want the Kyuubi?" I asked, the dread in my gut beginning to creep up._

_And my father only raised a brow condescendingly, expecting me to put it together. _

_I had a sinking feeling in my stomach when I figured out just what my father wanted the Kyuubi for. He wanted me to kill the Hokage knowing that Sarutobi-sama would never allow the clan to go through with this. _

_And even though I loved my family and my village… I loved my brother more. _

_XXXXX_

_It was the only way. _

_Shisui knew it as well as I did. _

_The only way to end this once and for all was if I killed them. The Sandaime wouldn't understand, so I turned to the only person I knew I could trust._

_Shisui was crying, though I didn't know if it was because he knew that he was about to die, or if it was because of what the Uchiha had become. He raised his eyes from the ground to look into mine, and I watched as he activated his Sharingan. For a moment, I thought he was going to fight me, but then he slowly reached up and grabbed the forehead protector off my head. _

_His eyes flickered back to mine for a brief second, and I knew that he had already made his decision. _

_Withdrawing a kunai from his pouch, his slowly dragged it across the leaf symbol. _

"_Never forget who you really are underneath that mask of yours, Itachi." Shisui said, his voice shaking slightly. _

_I didn't answer. _

"_You are a better man than your father." His eyes started to tear again, and I knew it wasn't because he was about to die._

_He was crying for me._

"_You're my best friend, Itachi. And I know that as shinobi, people don't normally believe in a higher being or heaven." He smiled sadly, and when my eyes began to burn slightly, he reached out and put his hand on my shoulder. "But if there is such a thing, I'll do my best to help you out as much as I can." _

_He held my gaze for a few more seconds, and I nodded, letting him know that I appreciated his words. He held my forehead protector out in front of me, and said the two words that he knew I needed to hear. _

_The two words that told me he would forgive me. _

"_Do it."_

XXXXX

Itachi raised his hand to wipe the tear that had leaked out of his eye, but as his hand reached his face, he stopped.

There was no shame in crying, he realized, because if there was anyone who deserved Itachi's tears, it was Sasuke. After everything he had put his brother through, Itachi would put pride aside and let the tear fall freely.

_She was right,_ Itachi thought as he gazed at Sasuke's grave one more time. _There are not many people who would give up their lives for ghosts of a memory. _

Itachi's eyes swept over the other graves, refusing to mentally apologize to them. He wouldn't have had to kill them if they didn't make that heinous decision…

But he felt like he couldn't blame them all equally, either. At the time, he felt indescribable rage towards his clan, but now he realized that there were probably clan members who were guiltier than others.

_Never forget who you really are underneath that mask of yours, Itachi._

_Shisui was right after all_, Itachi mused. He had forgotten who he really was after wearing a mask of apathy for so long. He had begun to believe his own lies as he got older—he had begun to believe that he really _was_ a ruthless killer.

He didn't used to be like this. When had things changed so drastically?

Perhaps… perhaps he would drop his mask in front of the only person left on this earth who still cared for him. Maybe it was time to keep his promise to Shisui.

After everything she had done for _him_, Itachi decided she deserved that much.

After everything she was doing for Konoha, she deserved knowing the truth.

Were they not that different? Were they not doing the same thing for the village they loved?

Lies, it seemed, could be used to tell the truth.

XXXXX

"You think he deserved to kill me?" Itachi asked coldly.

"He deserved to try." She said, and her voice held no fear.

There was a long pause in which Sakura desperately wanted Itachi to stop her. But when she realized he wouldn't, she opened the door and began to walk out.

"I can't…do anything." His voice sounded strained, like something was forcing him to speak against his will.

This admission stopped Sakura a few feet into the hallway. What the hell did that mean? Not only did he just admit to being incapable of doing something, she heard a flicker of apology in his voice.

She didn't turn around, nor did she shut the now open door. She merely waited for him to continue.

"I can't do anything…to help you understand me."

Even though Itachi did not see it, Sakura's eyes doubled in size.

She turned to see him staring out of the window, the moonlight highlighting his handsome features.

"What?" She asked incredulously.

"One thing I think you would have learned from this organization is acceptance, Sakura." He said blandly. His features betraying nothing, she assumed he was a bit annoyed by this current confrontation.

"Acceptance? Itachi, what are you talking about?" She was still rooted to the spot in the hallway.

He seemed to contemplate is answer.

"…I'm asking whether you can accept…things…the way they currently are." He said quietly, turning to look at her, and walking closer.

The shock she felt could not clearly be conveyed on her face. Was this way of admitting he felt something?

"Can I accept—?" She scoffed. "…Well, I suppose that depends." She said quietly, watching him stalk slowly towards her.

He stopped when they were chest to chest.

"On?" He pulled her inside her room and shut the door behind her.

Her facial expression was serious. "Whether or not you are willing to accept certain things as well."

His brow lifted, calculating it seemed, as he raised a hand to brush a stand lock of hair out of her face.

"If you want me to make concessions, then you have to make some, too. " She whispered, her eyes conveying her fear of his rejection—Itachi was not one known for compromises.

The corners of his lips moved slightly upward. Slowly, he bent down, moving about two inches from her face…and then he stopped. Gazing into those beautiful red eyes, she waited for him to move, but he did not.

"What are you doing?" She finally whispered, her breath quickening.

…

"…Meeting you halfway."

…

…

Sakura let the full force of that statement hit her. It was the most romantic thing she had ever heard, especially from Itachi. She didn't even know it was possible for him to act in such a way.

Smiling at him, she moved her head and closed the distance. It was their first kiss that lasted more than a couple of seconds. She poured every emotion she was feeling into that kiss, and he kissed her back with a passion-filled vigor she didn't know he was capable of.

Apparently he was full of surprises tonight.

Running her hands over his chest, she moved past his shoulders and gently removed his hair tie.

She felt his hands on her back nudge her forward so she was completely flush to his body. Gently letting his tongue slide over her bottom lip, she immediately opened her mouth to deepen the kiss.

If Sakura didn't know any better, she would have said there was some part of Itachi that was _sad_ in the way he kissed. As though he felt like this was something that would never last. And then she realized what was missing from their relationship.

_Time_.

When Sakura realized that there was no time left, she suddenly didn't feel like they were worlds apart. She didn't care that they were so different. She didn't care that they were complete opposites or that he was so cold.

Why?

Because it is said that _everything_ changes over time.

Realizing that fact, she pulled away, thoroughly saddened by her realization. Had Itachi realized the same thing?

Looking into the distance, Sakura suddenly felt angry. This was so unfair. Why could there be one aspect of her life that was peaceful and happy?

Why was everything so goddamn complicated?

Her hands still tangled in his hair, it took the sound of her name to pull her from her thoughts.

She looked at him and whispered, "…no time."

And with that simple statement, she pulled him down for another bliss-filled kiss. She couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking, because she saw the ways his eyes narrowed slightly at her words. He didn't seem to care about it too much though, for it didn't interrupt the way his tongue was currently caressing hers.

And suddenly, it didn't matter.

Nothing mattered.

She knew she couldn't escape—she couldn't run from this anymore.

And neither could he.

His fingers slid under her shirt and slowly ran up and down her lower back, leaving the skin tingling in his wake. She lifted herself further by wrapping her arms around his neck, the action causing her nipples to harden as they dragged across the cloth of his shirt. When his tongue ran lightly across the skin behind her upper teeth, she let out a small noise that was a mixture of a sigh and a moan.

At the sound she made, Itachi gently pushed her backwards so her back met the door of the room. Almost immediately, one of her legs wrapped around his, and her heel began to gently move up and down over his calf. He broke away from her for a quick moment so they could both catch their breath. Itachi could see that her eyes were clouded, and he could only imagine that his looked the same.

"Deactivate your Sharingan," she said, her chest heaving against his.

"No," he said before he could stop himself, his eyes dropping to watch her glistening swollen lips.

"Itachi," she whispered in a sultry tone, pulling him closer so her mouth would touch his as she spoke. "Please."

The leg that was around his thigh moved slightly as she gently ground against him. He couldn't stop the soft growling sound at the back of his throat, and he watched as her eyes widened slightly as though she couldn't believe she could make him groan. He didn't like the mischievous smirk on her face, but he let the chakra fade from his eyes anyway.

"Mmm," she sighed, moving one hand from his shoulder to tangle in his hair.

Their mouths met more forcefully this time, their kiss moving from unhurried and emotional to hot, hurried and hungry. The fingers on her back began to move towards her shoulder blades when she realized he was dragging her shirt over her head.

_Too fast, too fast_

"Itachi," she whispered as his mouth met her bare neck.

"Hm?" She almost forgot what she was going to say as his fingers slid down her sides, causing her to squirm slightly, and his thumbs rested just above the hem of her pants.

"Why is your hair wet?"

His mouth stopped moving as he stood up to look her in the eye. Sakura's couldn't read his expression, but from the tight corners of his mouth, she inferred that he was hiding something from her.

"I was at—"

But he was cut off by the sudden gasp she let out when her pink ring began to grow hot.

"Damn it Pein," she whispered, and Itachi stepped back to give her room to move. She picked her shirt up off the ground and threw it over her head as her hands ran over her hair.

"When I get back we'll continue this conversation."

XXXXX

"Good evening, Sakura," Pein said as she walked into his office. "I have a mission for you."

"A solo mission?" She asked, the funny feeling in her gut telling her she was missing something.

He didn't answer.

"I wanted to speak with you about the upcoming war."

"War?" She asked, her brow furrowing. "Being the Orochimaru is dead—"

"Ah. You've found out already, have you?" He asked, his lips curling into a smirk. Being that Orochimaru hadn't been dead for a full twenty-four hours, Sakura's mentally berated herself while trying to think up an excuse.

"Word travels fast around here, apparently." He said, not pressing her for information. He sat back in his chair and folding his hands across his stomach, seemingly relaxed.

"As you are aware, Orochimaru was killed yesterday by one of his subordinates, weeks before he was planning a massive scale attack on Konoha. From what we can gather, Otogakure has yet to produce another Otokage capable of leading the troops into war."

"Well if Orochimaru's dead…then what would be the point of continuing the attack?"

"The attack is in Akatsuki's best interests," was all he said. "And I am going to rely on you to smooth things over."

_Akatsuki's best interests? What the fuck does that mean?_

"Your mission is to travel to Otogakure and find out whether or not they are prepared for battle. I have received word from sources saying they have found a new leader and are prepared to attack on schedule, but I want you to make sure."

"_There is another…from whom your leader takes orders."_ The Mizukage once said to her…could it have been Orochimaru?

No, that was impossible. Akatsuki was stronger than Sound.

"Hai. When you do want me to leave?" She asked, mentally calculating how long the mission would take.

"Tomorrow morning. It will be a five or six day mission. I want you to be thorough."

"Hai."

But Sakura did not leave.

"May I ask what Akatsuki's plans are with regard to this upcoming war?"

"There will be no reason to pick a side." He said simply, smirking again.

"I don't understand…"

"Otogakure doesn't plan on just starting a war…they are going to annihilate the population. They want Konoha wiped off the map."

"But—why?"

"Their goals are their own." He said simply, not wanting to tell her anything that she could give the other side.

"I will not meddle in their goals when all I want is one thing."

_Naruto._

Sakura held his gaze for a long while, and for a moment, she wanted to tell him that she would die before letting him kill Naruto… But then she remembered that Naruto was the reason she was here.

And even though she had a feeling Pein knew she was a spy, she had to act the part. She had to disregard her safety for her best friend.

She couldn't let him win. Because not only would Naruto die, the world would fall.

So she nodded and left.

XXXXX

When she returned to her room, Itachi was gone. Her first reaction was to go to his room and continue their…conversation…but if Pein wanted her to leave before dawn, she needed to sleep. She could only guess it was about midnight, maybe later, so she slid into her sheets, wondering whether or not Pein noticed her swollen lips…

She had almost drifted off the sleep when she bolted out of bed. Sakura knew she had seen Naruto that morning, but it still felt like ages ago. She closed her eyes, and when she didn't sense any approaching chakra to her room, she summoned one of Katsuyu's children.

"I need you to tell Tsunade-sama that I need to speak with Naruto. It's an emergency," she whispered and the slug nodded. "Tell him to meet me at mile-marker 378 on the path between Konoha and Otogakure in two days."

"Mile-marker 378 between Fire and Sound in two days. Naruto. Got it. " The slug vanished.

Only this morning had she told him they would be seeing each other soon. It appeared their meeting would be sooner rather than later.

XXXXX

Two days later, Sakura found herself performing a genjustu over herself when she arrived at mile-marker 378. All throughout the trek here, her mind constantly played over the feeling of Itachi's lips, the slight purple of his onyx eyes in the moonlight, the feeling of his hard body pushing hers against the door…

But what stood out most in Sakura's mind was his admission. Did that mean that he finally accepted what was happening between them? No…he had accepted it the day after she drunkenly attacked him in a towel... She smiled at the memory. But what was different this time? Maybe that he was willing to make sacrifices for a long-term relationship? No, that was ridiculous. This was _Uchiha Itachi_ she was talking about. 'Itachi', 'long-term', and 'relationship' did not belong in the same sentence.

He wasn't there the morning she left. She would have liked to have said goodbye, but apparently Pein had given him a mission. Sakura could tell from the look in Pein's eye that he knew more about her than he ever said aloud. He probably knew she was a spy, but he never said anything. Why? He definitely knew about her and Itachi, but he never said anything. Sakura shook her head slightly. She knew what he was doing, but for what purpose?

He was playing games with her; he wanted to see how far he could push her.

...But why? Did she fit into some grand scheme he was planning? Pein seemed like to type to kill you on the spot for double-crossing.

Sakura knew this mission would be a dangerous one, but it wasn't until the past couple of days that she realized just how close to death she really was. Pein was using her for a reason, and when the day came that she lost her purpose, not only would Pein kill her, he would probably make her beg for death.

"Sakura-chan? What's wrong? The slug said it was an emergency—" Naruto's voice interrupted her thoughts.

She heard Naruto before she saw him, and she released the genjustu.

"How did you see through the genjustu?" She asked, stepping out from behind the bushes into Naruto's open arms.

"I didn't. I could smell you." He said, and she felt the vibrations through his chest.

She pulled back, a grin on her face. "You could smell me?" She wrinkled her nose.

Naruto grinned. "Yep. I may not be able to see through genjustu, but I can smell through it." His grin widened.

"Listen, Naruto—" He released her, but she kept a hand on his bicep.

"It's alright, we already know," he said, "Sound plans to invade sometime next week I think."

"Yeah—but Orochimaru's dead, so I'm on my there now to see if they're ready to—"

"Your leader made a deal with us, Sakura-chan," he said, all humor gone. "He said that Akatsuki would help us defeat Sound in exchange for me."

Sakura completely stilled.

"He—what?" She gasped.

Of course. She knew that Pein was a smart man. He would try and ally with Konoha, offering Akatsuki's help in exchange for the Kyuubi.

Knowing Naruto…he just might do it.

Sakura could only pray that someone talked some sense into him. Konoha was strong enough to hold its own.

But Naruto would do _anything_ to protect his people.

"But he probably made the same deal with Sound. He'd help Sound kill us if Akatsuki got me in return," Naruto continued.

He sighed. "I seem to be pretty popular, huh?" He deadpanned.

"What did you tell him?" Sakura asked, horrified.

"What do you mean 'what did I tell him'? Of course I said no. Do you think I'd hand over Kyuubi to Akatsuki?"

"Of course not. But I do know that you would do anything for your village, Naruto."

His expression softened. "Not anything. Baa-chan and I did something that will definitely confuse those Sound assholes. And I've been thinking about ways to maybe—well actually, I can't tell you. It's safer for you to not know."

"Alright. But be careful, and don't do anything stupid." She took a step forward to hug him again.

"_Stupid_?" Naruto grinned and put his arms around her. "When was the last time I did something _stupid_?"

"Naruto," Sakura began, pulling away from him, "things are starting to get—bad. I don't know what I'm going to do when Pein finds out that I'm a spy, but I need you to promise me that whatever it is that you're planning, I want you to promise me that you'll be okay."

Why were there tears in her eyes?

"Sakura-chan—" He made to put his arms around her again, but she took a step backwards.

"No, Naruto. Listen to me. I want you to promise me that you won't die. I can't—I can't do _that_ again."

"I—"

"Say 'I promise.'"

Naruto didn't move for a long minute before Sakura saw his jaw clench. "I promise that I will do everything in my power to fight back."

"But—"

"You listen to me now, Sakura," Naruto said, taking a step forward, "I'm not going to sit back and watch you leader manipulate people like puppets in order to accomplish ... whatever it is his goals are. I promise that I'll do my best to stay alive. But if the time comes when I can do something to change this world," Naruto shook his head slightly, "and if the price is my life...I'll do it if it protects the ones I love."

"...Fine." Sakura turned and prepared to jump into the trees, oddly unsatisfied. Did she expect anything less of him? It would be an insult if she expected him to be a coward.

But if Naruto died, she honestly didn't know if she would ever recover.

Naruto was in front of her before her feet ever touched the branch. "Hey," he said, "don't do that. Don't be mad at me for doing the right thing."

She flung her arms around his neck before he could see the tears in her eyes.

"Trust me," he said quietly, "everything will be okay. That I can promise you."

"...He told me to tell you that he's sorry," her voice cracked as she spoke into his neck, "and he wants you to become Hokage." She laughed. "There he was dying in my arms, and he told me that he was sorry." She scoffed. "What the hell took him so long? Why—?"

Naruto ran a hand through her hair. "Don't do that, Sakura-chan. There's nothing you can do about it now. I'm sure he was glad you were there with him."

She pulled back to see a genuine smile on his face, his eyes slightly glistening.

"And thanks," he whispered, his thumb running over her cheek, "for telling me."

She took a deep breath, "I've got to go."

He nodded and took a step to the left, letting her pass. "Good luck."

She turned and smiled slightly. "You too."

"Oh, and Sakura," he called as she prepared to spring, "Sasuke has been sorry for a long time. It only took him a while to say it."

"...You think so?"

He nodded once. "Yes. He's been sorry since the second he set foot out of Konoha."

Sakura swallowed. "He told me he loved me."

Naruto laughed quietly. "It's about time he told you."

"You knew?" She asked incredulously.

Naruto's grin widened. "The only people who didn't know that Sasuke loved you were you and Sasuke."

Sakura looked at the branch she was standing on, a smile on her face.

"What did you tell him?"

Sakura's head snapped up. "...The truth," she said quietly then jumped into the trees.

Naruto stood there for a long time, his eyes trained on the spot where she vanished. He turned eventually, and a smile crept on his face at the thought of the conversation that must have taken place between the two of them.

"I would have loved to have seen the expression on his face."

**OOOOO**

…**Yes, yes I know that I made Itachi extremely mature for six years old. But if he was killing by the time he was 8 and in ANBU at 13…**

**I really **_**really**_** REALLY wanted to put a lemon in this chapter. But I couldn't. Hope you enjoyed the first citrus I've written in a long time. **

**I hope you picked up on the "You're too different" thing… Yes…?**

**Until next time!**

**(I love Shisui! I wish he had more screen time…)**


	15. Chapter 15

**It took me a while to get my ItaSaku mojo back…get ready for a whirlwind of emotions.**

**I don't own Naruto.**

**Enjoy.**

**OOOOO**

"Is there something you are not telling me, Itachi?"

Itachi stood in the darkness of Pein's office, his Sharingan bright and intense. He couldn't explain the anger that was currently flowing through his veins, nor could he explain whom he was angry with. But his body language didn't give anything away as his cool façade was in place, his arms lying still by his side.

"About?" he asked, knowing a tinge of anger and impatience were seeping through his normally flat voice.

For the first time in long time, Itachi saw Pein's eyes flash with anger as he stood from his chair behind a large wooden desk.

"Don't play games with me, Itachi." He took a step closer. "We both know why you are here, but what I can't understand is why you are not divulging any information."

"There is nothing to divulge," he said smoothly.

Pein stepped in front of him, and Itachi wondered briefly if Pein's hand twitch signified the desire to ring Itachi's neck.

"She's a spy. Surely you know this?" Pein said condescendingly.

Itachi's eyes narrowed, now understanding Pein's game. Itachi had long suspected Sakura's lies—why he never said anything however, was something he would examine at a different time—and Pein obviously knew from the beginning. So he could admit that he _did_ know, and be questioned as to why he didn't alert anyone, or he could say that he _didn't_ know and—

Why was he even pondering this? Lying was beneath him, and he certainly wasn't about to change.

"I had my suspicions."

That seemed to please Pein greatly as his smirk grew wider.

"You've already failed me when you let the six-tails die and I let it pass. Don't fail me again."

"What are my orders?" he asked flatly, the boredom in his tone the only form of rebellion allowed.

Pein took another step closer. "I want her here when we capture the Kyuubi and have her watch someone she loves die. I want to see her pain."

Itachi didn't answer.

Studying his expression for a few moments, Pein leaned forward so his mouth was next to Itachi's ear. Fighting the urge to step back, Itachi listened, half-knowing what the threat would be about.

"One day," he began quietly, "I will take great pleasure in watching your face as you listen to her scream."

XXXXX

As Sakura approached the border of Oto, a heavy, dark feeling settled in the pit of her stomach. It was a cold, rainy day, but she knew the dread and depression she felt had little to do with the weather.

The memories that exploded in her mind when buildings came into view made her legs shake. She didn't have trouble accepting the fact that Sasuke was gone, but it was still surreal—like any second she expected him to pop out from behind a tree and challenge Itachi to the death. The thought brought a brief smile to her face, but it vanished when she remembered that he had died without fulfilling his ambition.

But perhaps what was most worrisome was the mental battle raging in her mind. On one side, she was sad for him because he had lived his life for one purpose, only to die before it could be accomplished. And another part of her was horrified at the thought of Itachi vanishing from her life.

It was almost humorous how much of an impact Itachi had on her. Here was a man who, a year ago, she hadn't met and very likely would have killed without ever knowing him. And now, she was afraid of the prospects of completing her mission and going home, knowing he couldn't follow.

…But maybe he wouldn't _want_ to follow.

And that scared her more than she was willing to admit.

XXXXX

After another mile or so, Sakura approached the gates. She never traveled wearing her Akatsuki cloak for identity protection, but having slipped it on a few miles previously, she knew that she would be granted immediate access.

It scared her sometimes, how well she could slip into her role as a spy, but Sakura tried to chalk it off to one of the responsibilities of being a kunoichi. But there was also a part of her that felt a bit—guilty about much she had lied in the past. To be perfectly honest with herself, she was lying to almost every person she knew. Sasuke was probably the only person she had admitted certain things to. Briefly, she wondered if Itachi would understand her mission, or if he would be hurt.

_Of course he wouldn't be hurt_, she said to herself. But he would probably be angry with her for deceiving him. After all, he would just add her to his list of betrayers, but then again, he had no room to talk about betrayal.

But that didn't erase her guilt.

"State your purpose," said a short, bulky guard in a Sound uniform when she approached the gate.

"I've been sent on my leader's orders to measure your capability to wage war against Konoha. I assume you have been expecting me?"

The man shifted his weight, slightly embarrassed but not willing to admit it.

"Of course," he wheezed. "This way."

XXXXX

Sakura was led down a narrow dirt path through the trees before she met a clearing filled with gray buildings and run-down, dilapidated houses.

This was the village Sasuke voluntarily stayed in all these years?

She tried to keep her eyes trained on the ground, not wanting to think about the kinds of activities that went on during his stay here. There were no civilians on the streets, only shinobi had enough courage to walk down the sidewalk.

And suddenly, Sakura felt like Sasuke did this village a favor by killing Orochimaru. She knew things wouldn't change though, because Sound would need a miracle to choose someone for the position who actually cared for the well-being of its citizens.

"Haruno-san." A tall man in front of her bowed. "It's an honor."

She knew he was just kissing her ass and didn't really care whether she lived or died, but she returned the gesture.

"My name is Tanakawa Imoshi. I am the commander of the forces." The tall man turned to the short guard. "Return to your post."

The short guard bowed. "Hai!"

Sakura glanced up at the man, her keen eyes taking in his features. His face was hard and angular and reminded her somewhat of Ibiki. His hair was graying and long with eyes black as night, but duller than Itachi and Sasuke's. His uniform—baggy pants and a long sleeved shirt with wide sleeves—was dark green instead of gray like the other Sound uniforms. The only thing that made him stand out was the medal that was fixed to his chest. Sakura wondered why he received it.

"I'm afraid we have yet to choose an Otokage, but there are names being tossed around."

Sakura crossed her arms. "I'm afraid my leader won't be pleased with that. He wants an answer now. Are you ready to go to war or not?" She didn't break eye contact, trying to seem authoritative.

"Of course we are ready," he said with a slight incline of his head. "Orochimaru-sama entrusted this task to me and I would not send my men to their deaths," he said, his chest puffing slightly.

_They _are_ going to their deaths,_ she wanted to say, but she held her tongue.

"I did not mean to imply you would."

"Of course."

They were glaring at each other unblinkingly, both understanding that there was no love lost between Oto and Akatsuki. Sakura knew that the village and the organization hated each other—or rather, Orochimaru hated Ataksuki and vice versa—but Sakura couldn't help but wonder what happened that made Orochimaru hate the organization so much... and why, if they disliked each other, did they make this deal in the first place?

"...May I see your attack plans?" she asked, even though it wasn't meant as a question.

He nodded. "This way…" Tanakawa stepped into the stone building behind him, Sakura following in his wake.

XXXXX

"So," Sakura began, reading the paper closely. _I need some sort of information to give Naruto. _"If I am reading this correctly, you plan to attack in two days?"

But the man didn't answer.

Sakura felt the air around her shift slightly, her eyes widening in realization. She turned around as quickly as her reflexes would allow her, catching the kunai that was aimed for her neck between her fingers. Her eyes snapped up to meet the commander's surprised gaze before flinging the kunai back at him.

He caught it with a smirk. "Forgive me, Haruno-san, but I needed to make sure you were Akatsuki level."

She disappeared, only to appear beside him, her own kunai poised at his heart, cutting through his clothes and breaking the skin. "If you think catching a kunai before it severs your head is Akatsuki level, you haven't met many shinobi. I would hope a chuunin would be able to stop such an attack."

She felt him stiffen slightly.

"Of course. My mistake."

In the split second she was standing there looking at him, an idea hit her. It was so simple, but dangerous—very dangerous, and extremely risky. It was a decision that had to made…but if it didn't go as planned, she would be killed and everything she had done for Konoha would be for nothing…but if it succeeded, it would save Konoha, and Pein would never realize it was her.

It had to be done.

She lowered the kunai from over the man's heart, her fingers forming seals as fast as she physically could and lightly touched his chest, healing the wound the point of the kunai had left on his skin.

"I would hate to think of the consequences should you fail."

XXXXX

The pressure in her chest was highly uncomfortable. Sakura didn't understand where it had come from, but as she walked through the doors of the base, she had to lean against the doorframe to catch her breath.

She felt…overwhelmed.

She knew from the beginning that this mission was going to give her hell, but things were spinning out of control so quickly, Sakura felt at a loss as to what to do. She was getting romantically involved with an S-class criminal, Sasuke was dead, Naruto and the rest of her village was about to go to war and she couldn't be there, Itachi was going blind, and she was almost certain Pein knew she was a spy.

She had always had someone there to talk to, but with no Naruto, no Ino and no Kakashi, Sakura felt oddly alone. She knew she couldn't talk about this to Itachi, and the guilt she was beginning to feel was also adding to her high level of discomfort. It was obvious that the life of a shinobi couldn't be farther from _comfortable_, but Sakura had long since developed—dare she say it—friendships with these people, and while she wasn't concerned for their safety knowing they could protect themselves, she wondered what they would do if there ever came a time to chose between her life and their allegiance to Akatsuki.

Sakura shook her head and made her way to her room down the hall. Who was she kidding? A bunch of missing-nins among the most powerful shinobi in the world were never going to pick a pink-haired girl over their own lives. She knew that, and she had accepted it, but she couldn't deny that she wasn't slightly upset that was the case.

She wouldn't allow herself to regret, though, but she couldn't stop the feeling of anger and remorse she felt for this life. Not for the first time, she wondered if she would ever be happy.

XXXXX

When she realized that Itachi was asleep in her bed, the magnitude of the situation hit her so hard, her knees buckled.

What the _hell_ was she thinking?

She suddenly felt like throwing up, her nausea causing her vision to swim. She didn't know why it had taken her so long to figure this out, but she suddenly realized what she needed to do.

_She needed to get out._

She had fallen in love with the _wrong, wrong, wrong_ person and if she didn't get out now, there would be no undoing the damage. She didn't know why she had tried to believe for so long that it would work out between them, and she didn't know why she kept choosing to believe Itachi would protect her from Pein… Maybe it was because she didn't want to admit that Itachi _would never_ protect her from their leader, and Sakura could suddenly not remember a time in her life when she felt so terrified.

_She was going to die if she stayed here any longer._

Completely disregarding her mission, her flight response began to kick in when she crossed the room with great speed and began searching her closet for her pack. She was tearing through her things, ignoring the fact that Itachi would wake up at any moment—

Why was he in her room?

The thought caused her to pause in the darkness and she turned around to see him sitting up on her bed, looking at her with dark eyes and a calm expression. He looked so beautiful in the darkness that Sakura forced herself to turn around and continue her search before she changed her mind.

Her eyes began to burn, but she didn't know why. Was it because she was never going to see him again? Was it because she was afraid he might die? Maybe it was because she had completely failed her mission and didn't care. She just needed to put distance between the two of them, and when she told Tsunade that she failed because Pein was going to kill her, it wouldn't be a total lie.

"Sakura," he said in his smooth, low tenor that continually gave her chills. Had she not seen him moments ago, she never would have been able to tell from his voice that he had just woken up.

She stopped what she was doing to turn and face him. "Itachi," she greeted a bit coldly.

He appraised her with his eyes, and she watched his onyx gaze go from her face to the pack she was currently holding.

"Are you leaving?" he asked, his voice not indicating a question. His gaze snapped back up to hers, and a new realization dawned on her.

What if Itachi wouldn't let her leave?

She was sure he could see the fear written on her face even without the aid of Sharingan, but as the thoughts flew through her head, she couldn't help but realize that Itachi was going to choose Akatsuki over her. He would never sacrifice himself or his pride for her well-being, whether she was going to be killed or not. She knew him well enough to know that he was a stubborn ass with some sort of self-sacrificing mission in life that she had never quite figured out, but she was the only other person on the planet who knew that there was much more to this Uchiha than meets the eye.

"No," she answered, surprised at the evenness of her voice. "I'm just getting back."

She knew he didn't believe one word she said because he had always been able to read her so _easily_—and it made her so _mad_ that he could—but when he stood up from the bed and walked towards her, she couldn't fight the reaction to grab a kunai from her pouch.

He noticed, but didn't say anything as he took her pack from her grasp and put it back into the closet.

"Do not be foolish," he said softly. She caught his scent and cursed the calming effect it always had on her. "Sit down."

At a complete loss of what to do, she allowed herself to be steered through the darkness and follow suit when he sat on the edge of her bed.

"I take it that your mission was successful?"

Why was he asking such a stupid question? She knew he didn't care whether she had accomplished or failed Pein's task for her, and his lack of emotion began to make her heart beat faster.

What if he killed her right here? No one would come to her aid and with a sharp pain in her chest, she began to understand just how alone she really was.

So she began to edge away from him.

"Hai."

He watched her move away, and her stomach dropped when she saw him smirk.

"It seems like you are finally beginning to grasp your situation."

_He's going to kill me_ was the only thought running through her mind and she desperately wanted to kick herself for being so naïve.

"Why are you in my room?" she asked, her voice only wavering slightly.

Was he sent there to kill her when she got back? What if he had been using her this whole time?

Blame it on paranoia or simply the situation, but Sakura's mind began going back over every one of their exchanges, wondering if he had been playing her from the beginning.

But…wasn't that what she was doing to him?

For once, he answered her. "I wished to speak with you when you returned."

_They would use me,_ she thought, considering Pein's ruthless nature. Maybe he was deceiving Itachi. What if Pein wanted Sakura to gain Itachi's trust in order to use it against him? Sakura began to get a headache from just thinking about all the different scenarios.

She looked like she was going to vomit. "Breathe, Sakura," he said as he watched her pale significantly.

"I wish to know about your real mission."

She focused back on him, taking steadying breaths to try and keep a calm, clear mind.

"What real mission?"

Itachi's Sharingan activated before he could stop himself and Sakura backed up so far that she was against the headboard.

"No more lies," he whispered, and Sakura briefly wondered why he was not raising his voice.

Could it have been to calm her? Or was it because he didn't want any eavesdroppers?

"I will not touch you." He deactivated his Sharingan and Sakura scooted forward slightly, suddenly embarrassed by her actions.

"Are—aren't you angry?"

"My entire life has been a lie filled with nothing but deception and betrayal. I do not see why this situation would have been any different."

She felt a sting at his words when she caught the slight bitterness in his tone. She felt guilty again when she heard the words he would not say.

_He wanted this situation to be different_. He wanted truth in his life—something real and tangible and something that was _his_ and no one else's; something that didn't revolve around a mission, something that didn't involve lies, pain and deceit.

Something…honest.

"I don't know if it makes a difference to you, but my…mission had nothing to do with you. It was Akatsuki and that's it. With you—I never had to act."

Itachi couldn't hide the look of relief that passed quickly over his face, and Sakura wondered if maybe he showed her on purpose. Because he had always been a man of action, not words.

Sakura didn't quite know what to do next, but Itachi's quiet strength calmed her down. The fact that he wasn't angry made her feel somewhat better, but he was acting like…

"How long have you known?" she asked quietly, letting her gaze drop to his lips and ignoring her sudden desire to feel them against her own.

He smirked slightly. "You are not the type to betray your village. You would never kill a comrade."

Sakura actually smiled at his inadvertent compliment.

Itachi said nothing, but closed his eyes for a moment and brought a hand up to rub his temple. Sakura heard his deep intake of breath, and she wondered just what he was thinking.

"What are you going to do?" she asked with trepidation, slightly afraid to learn his answer.

He didn't look up at her. "About?"

How could he be so calm about this?

She was quiet long enough for him to hear her silent plea, and eventually, he looked up at her.

"Me," she whispered.

Itachi leaned forward and rested his forehead in his hands. His silence worried her because she knew he was debating what to do, but for some reason, she couldn't explain why she no longer felt frightened. She would do what she needed to in order to get out alive, and the fact that Itachi wasn't going to hurt her made her feel exponentially better.

As she saw it, there were two options. One, he could keep her there until Pein had her killed, or she could leave even though it would look like Itachi let her go. They wouldn't be able to make it look like she overpowered him, because they all knew that she couldn't. Unless…

"Hidan and Kakuzu left this morning to capture the eight-tails," he said suddenly, his smooth voice soft and slightly muted.

It took Sakura three seconds to realize, with horror, what he was saying.

"Which means Naruto is next," she said slowly.

He finally sat up straight not bothering to push his hair out of his face, and looked her right in the eye. "Correct."

And Sakura couldn't remember the last time he looked so tired.

He didn't break eye contact with her, and Sakura wondered if he was trying to tell her something through his gaze. "You might find that I am most prone to attacks during our healing sessions."

Her eyes widened and she couldn't stop the soft, grateful smile on her lips when she realized what he was doing.

_He was giving her a way out._

Not caring about whether or not he would allow her, Sakura slid her hand into his and laced their fingers together. He did not return her squeeze but nor did he pull away, which was more than enough for her.

She felt tears began to sting her eyes when she finally understood that this was the beginning of the end. The year in Akatsuki was coming to a close and she had no idea whether or not she would see any of them again. She had a life in Konoha that was waiting for her, but she also had something of a life here as well. So much had happened and so much had changed, she wondered if she would be able to readjust…or if she had changed too much to be able to live confined within village walls after living the past year as she pleased.

And she felt foolish for feeling that way when she remembered everyone who was waiting for her. What would they say if they knew there was a part of her that didn't want to return?

But…she also didn't want to remain here either. She wanted…more. She wanted change; a different life that neither Akatsuki nor Konoha could offer her.

She wanted freedom.

_What am I saying?_ she wondered, curious as to where her undying loyalty to Konoha had disappeared to. She would never betray them, but she also wasn't so sure anymore that she wanted to spent the rest of her life in the same village in which she grew up.

What else was out there that she hadn't experienced?

Itachi watched the conflict in her eyes closely, willing to give her another day to act. Pein wouldn't harm her until the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki was captured, and with his room down the hall, he would be able to hear any late night visitors.

He stood to leave.

"They are attacking in two days, Sakura, you must decide what to do."

Sakura watched him leave, grateful to be left in the privacy of her own thoughts.

It wasn't until a few minutes after he shut the door behind him that Sakura wondered how Itachi knew that.

XXXXX

An hour after Itachi left her alone, Sakura pulled a small scroll out of her desk drawer. If Naruto and Tsunade had a back-up plan, then she would need one as well. After a few moments of thinking, she wrote,

_When you see them, breathe the air and die._

**OOOOO**

**So Pein's a crazy mofo who is beginning to doubt Itachi's allegiance, Sound is about to wage war on Konoha for unknown reasons, and Sakura failed her mission and had an emotional breakdown. I hope you enjoyed it! **

**Until next time!**

**Question: Which would you rather read: NarutoSakura or GenmaSakura?**

**One chapter left...**


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